Greek: Senior Year
by jessec12
Summary: Follow Rusty, Calvin, Rebecca, and Dale's senior year at CRU as well as our favorite Greeks that have moved on from the Greek system. Multiple pairings: Cappie/Casey, Rusty/Ashleigh, and more!
1. And So it Begins

A/N: This story is a sequel to my previous story, 'Greek: The Following Semester.' I recommend reading that one first, but I did try my best to write the first chapter of this one in a way so that any new readers can jump right in on this story. :) Hope you enjoy!

Episode #1: And So it Begins

Setting: A few days before Rush after summer vacation

Synopsis: While home for a family wedding, Casey gets a surprise from a relative that could lead her back to her dream job. While Rusty is home, Spidey steps up to help plan an event for Rush. Meanwhile, Rebecca and Evan make a decision about their relationship, and other CRU students prepare to start the new year.

-GREEK-

"Well I'm back in Chicago yet again," Casey said to Cappie as she pulled into the driveway of her family's home in Chicago. "Is it bad that I just want this wedding to be over with?"

"I don't think it'll be so bad," Cappie said.

"I've never had that much fun at family events," Casey said. "I'm not particularly close to many people in my family and I feel I'm only invited out of obligation, and I only show up because of obligation."

"There's nothing wrong with not being close to them," Cappie began. "But they're still your family and I'm sure they're excited to see you. And I'm excited to meet them. Plus, think of the good things that are going to happen."

"Like what?" Casey asked. "Well, Rusty's coming home in a few hours and Ashleigh's coming up. That's good."

"Yeah, we'll get to hang out with them again," Cappie began. "And there's also you and me. This is the first time we're going together to something more than an All Greek Ball. Think about you and me dancing together at the reception. And there's us spending the night in your room; maybe doing a little 'studying,' if you know what I mean."

"Mmm, I do like the sound of that," Casey said with a smile and leaned over to kiss him. "I wish we could do that last one, but unfortunately we're sleeping in the guest room, that's right across from my parents' room. My grandparents are staying in my room because it's bigger."

"I guess that might ruin your dad's impression of me, then," Cappie said with a laugh.

"Yeah, he took to you rather quickly back at Christmas," Casey said. "You're the first one of my boyfriends that he hasn't completely hated."

"I was pleasantly surprised," Cappie said. "After the incident at Kappa Tau during parents' weekend two years ago, I wasn't sure what your parents would think of me."

"Well, that was more about Rusty than about me," Casey said. "Plus you showed them just what they wanted to see, that you're smart, you want a good future, and you're committed to us having that future together."

"And that I love you," Cappie smiled and kissed Casey.

"Hey, are you kids getting out or what?" they heard a voice yell. They broke apart and looked up to see Karen Cartwright standing on the front porch. They got out of the car and walked over to her.

"Hi, Mom," Casey greeted.

"Hi, honey," Karen greeted happily and gave Casey a hug. "It's good to have you home, even if it's only for a few days. Cappie, it's good to see you again, too." She gave Cappie a hug, too.

"Nice to see you again, too, Mrs. Cartwright," Cappie said.

"Come on inside," Karen said. "Case, your father and I were just getting ready to meet your Aunt Tracy to help with some last minute things for the wedding. When's your brother getting in?"

"In a few hours," Casey replied. "We're meeting him and Ash at Gino's when they get in."

"Make sure you all come back here this evening," Karen said. "Your grandparents will be here, and we want to hear all about Rusty's trip and your work."

-GREEK-

"Hey guys!" Spidey called out, arriving back at the KT house and finding the downstairs completely empty. "Anyone here?" No one answered. "Well, guess I'm the first one back, then. So why was the door unlocked?"

"You know they say talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity," Spidey heard a voice behind him say. He turned around and saw Kelsey standing at the front door.

"Hey, welcome back," Spidey greeted. "How was your summer?"

"It was good," Kelsey said. "I'm just really glad to be back. How was yours?"

"Camp was interesting, to say the least," Spidey said with a laugh. "What have you been doing; haven't heard from you since the 4th of July."

"I guess I've been busy working and hanging out with high school friends," Kelsey said.

"Everything okay with Robert?" Spidey asked concerned.

"Oh, everything's fine," Kelsey said quickly. "I was just on my way to meet Heather at ZBZ so we can move into our room. I just saw you walk in here and thought I'd say hi."

"Well I'm glad you did," Spidey said. "Catch up with you later then."

"Definitely," Kelsey said. "I want to hear all about the camp." After Kelsey left, Spidey saw Pickle, Anthony Hopkins, Dump Truck, and about half a dozen more KTs enter the house.

"Hey, where have you guys been?" Spidey asked.

"We went for a beer run," Pickle said. "Come on, we're gonna set up the water slide out back."

"Shouldn't we start getting ready for Rush?" Spidey asked. "It starts in two days."

"There's really not much we have left to do," Pickle said. "Plus, Spitter's not even back yet; we've got lots of time."

"Where the heck is Spitter, anyway?" Dump Truck asked. "Shouldn't he be back by now?"

"He's at a wedding in Chicago," Anthony Hopkins said. "But he'll be back on the first day of Rush. As Rush chair, I've got everything under control. But right now, it's water slide time!"

-GREEK-

"Knock, knock," Calvin said as he knocked on the door of Dale's new room in the Omega Chi house.

"President Calvin," Dale greeted happily. "Welcome back to America, yet again. How was summer in Japan?"

"It was a great experience," Calvin said. "But now I'm ready for senior year and to take back the house. I'm going to do things right this time."

"You know, I'm glad you got the presidency this year," Dale said.

"I still think I did partly because Trip became IFC president," Calvin said. "And you can't be both president of IFC and your fraternity."

"That may be true, but I don't think that's why you got it," Dale said. "You got it by showing you know what's best for the house, and leaving the KTs out of your campaign."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Calvin said, looking around Dale's room. "Well it looks like you moved in fast."

"Oh, I've been in here for three days now," Dale said. "Since I was here all summer anyway, I moved in early when some of the other guys got back."

"Oh yeah, how was being Dr. Larson's research assistant?" Calvin asked.

"I'm pretty sure it's got me a ticket to grad school," Dale said. "Dr. Larson has connections at some of the top notch grad schools in the nation."

"That's great," Calvin said. "And we'll all have to catch up when Rusty gets back. Sounds like he had a pretty great time this summer."

"Some freshman girl just wandered inside the house and is looking for you, Dale," Trip entered the room and interrupted.

"Must be my sister," Dale sighed and began to walk downstairs, and Calvin followed. He got downstairs and sure enough, he saw his little sister standing in the foyer.

"There you are," Rachel Kettlewell said when she saw Dale.

"What are you doing here?" Dale asked.

"In case you forgot, I go here now," Rachel said.

"I mean what are you doing _here_, in my house?" Dale asked.

"I need your help," Rachel said. "I have no idea where the hell Chambers Hall is."

"Wait, you're living in Chambers Hall?" Calvin spoke up. "How'd you get in there as a freshman? That's one of the nicest dorms on campus."

"Oh I don't know," Rachel responded. "That's just where the university put me. But I can't find it."

"So you can find me at my house, but you can't find your own dorm?" Dale asked.

"Greek Row is a lot easier to find," Rachel said. "Plus I could really use some help moving in."

"Aren't Mom and Dad with you?" Dale asked.

"No, I drove up myself," Rachel said. "You know, there are things I know about you that I'm sure you don't want your fraternity brothers to find out about."

"So what, if I don't help you then you're going to tell something," Dale said.

"You know me too well," Rachel smirked.

"Oh, let's just go help your sister, Dale," Calvin said.

"Fine, let's go to Chambers Hall," Dale sighed and they walked out of the house.

-GREEK-

"Rusty!" Ashleigh shouted as she saw him walking toward her in the Chicago airport.

"Ash!" Rusty greeted when he reached her and gave her a big hug.

"I'm so glad you're back," Ashleigh said happily.

"I'm glad to be back," Rusty said with a smile and kissed her.

"I missed that," Ashleigh smiled when they broke apart. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, a lot," Rusty said, grabbing her hand as they started walking out of the airport. "And I missed KT; I had an incredible time this summer but I can't wait to get back to CRU. How's it been there lately?"

"I've been working, but other than that it's been pretty boring actually," Ashleigh said. "I can't wait for everyone to get back and the year to start. I was hanging out with Rebecca a lot, until she went AWOL."

"What do you mean Rebecca went AWOL?" Rusty asked.

"She went away about two weeks ago and no one's heard from her since," Ashleigh said. "It's not like she was kidnapped or anything, cause her car's gone too."

"Any idea where she could have gone?" Rusty asked.

"No, but I have a feeling it has something to do with Evan," Ashleigh said. "Cappie mentioned he hadn't heard from Evan in a few weeks."

"Did they really hook up during 4th of July weekend?" Rusty asked.

"Yeah, apparently so," Ashleigh said. "When she went down to her mom's house to see him that weekend."

"I'm sure she'll be back at CRU soon," Rusty said. "She has to; she's ZBZ president."

"Yeah, I just wish they'd stop playing games and just get back together already," Ashleigh said. "It's obvious she's still into him and he's still into her."

-GREEK-

"Welcome to your new classroom, Walter," the principal of Cyprus Elementary School told Beaver as he opened the door of the kindergarten classroom. "I'll leave you to get settled. If you need any supplies, just ask my secretary." The principal left, and Beaver walked into the classroom followed by Katherine.

"I have my own classroom," Beaver said excitedly. "This is so awesome!"

"It's great, but whoever used it this summer did a horrible job cleaning it," Katherine said.

"I know Mrs. Mayberry said this school doesn't have the best janitors," Beaver said. "But that's why we came in today. Help me decide what to do with the place."

"I'd say let's start by picking up the toys that are all over the floor," Katherine began. "And cleaning the crayon off the tables, and vacuuming up the food crumbs. Seriously, this room looks worse than the apartment right now."

"What's wrong with the apartment?" Beaver asked confused.

"We've been living there less than three months and it's already a pigsty," Katherine said. "I've been working all summer and I'm starting school again soon, and I don't have the time to clean the whole place myself."

"I clean," Beaver said. "Don't I?"

"Well, you clean the table by throwing the crumbs on the floor," Katherine said. "I trip over your dirty laundry on the floor at least twice a day. When you have Wade over for your Saturday night Cops marathons, there's always pizza boxes and beer cans left for me to clean up the next morning. Then there's the toilet seat! How hard is it to put the thing down after you go?"

"Look, I'm sorry," Beaver said. "How come you're just now telling me this?"

"I thought I could learn to live with it," Katherine said. "I've been such a neat freak my whole life, and I thought a little mess wouldn't hurt. But it's gotten to be more than just a little mess, and I can't live like that."

"I guess I've been so used to having pledges clean up after me for the last four years," Beaver said.

"Well I don't want to be your pledge," Katherine said. "I want to be your girlfriend. You have no idea how thrilled I was when you asked me to get an apartment together, and I really want this to work. All I'm asking for is a little help."

"For you, anything," Beaver said. "I really am sorry. I promise when we get home I'll clean the whole apartment from top to bottom, and I won't let it get that bad again."

"It's okay, and thanks," Katherine smiled. "But first things first, let's get this classroom looking good for the children."

-GREEK-

The KT house was in full swing as the brothers were outside drinking beer and playing on the water slide. Spidey went inside to get more beer to bring out when the doorbell rang.

"Officer Huck, uh, how can I help you?" Spidey asked when he opened the door and saw the officer standing there.

"I'm just going around to all of the houses before Rush," Officer Huck said. "I'll need to talk with your house president."

"Rusty's actually still out of town for a few more days," Spidey said. "But I'll make sure the guys get the message. What's going on?"

"Well after the incident during last year's Rush which involved your house," Officer Huck began. "We're watching this year's Rush even more closely and making sure it stays dry. Which means that there are to be no parties until after Rush is over; only university sponsored Rush events. So if you were planning any parties, don't tell me about it, and don't plan any further. During Rush there'll be representatives from IFC and Pan-Hellenic doing walk-throughs on all the houses, just like dry weekend."

"Not to worry, Officer Huck, we weren't planning anything," Spidey lied.

"I'm just going to pretend to believe that and be on my way," Officer Huck said. "Just remember, I have eyes and ears all over. Good day!"

"Was that Officer Huck?" Anthony Hopkins asked, coming up behind Spidey as he shut the door. "What did he want?"

"He said we're not allowed to have any parties during Rush," Spidey said. "So we're not going to be able to have ours."

"But we're gonna have it in the basement this year," Anthony Hopkins said. "No one's gonna see it or hear it that way."

"Well yeah that was our plan," Spidey said. "But someone from IFC is doing inspections on all the houses."

"Seriously?" Anthony Hopkins asked, annoyed. "Now what are we gonna do? It just won't be KT without a Rush party."

"I think I have an idea," Spidey said. "There's a way we can still have the party. I'll take care of it."

"Awesome," Anthony Hopkins said. "But first, we could really use some food. We're starving, and the cupboards are dead empty."

"You do remember I'm not a pledge anymore," Spidey said.

"But for now you're still the lowest on the KT totem pole," Anthony Hopkins said. "We've all been there, but not to worry my friend; by this time next week there'll be a whole new crop of KT pledges."

-GREEK-

"Rebecca!" Heather shouted as she saw Rebecca walking past her new room. "You're back!"

"Hey guys," Rebecca greeted, seeing Heather and Kelsey moving things around in the room. "Yeah, of course I'm back. You sound surprised."

"We're just glad to see you," Heather said.

"Yeah, we were wondering where you've been," Kelsey said. "Ashleigh told me you disappeared a few weeks ago."

"Disappeared?" Rebecca asked with a laugh. "You make it sound like I was abducted. I just went away for a few weeks after my summer job ended."

"With Evan?" Heather asked.

"What makes you think I was with Evan?" Rebecca asked.

"Just a guess," Heather said. "So were you?" Rebecca walked inside their room and shut the door behind her.

"Fine, yes I was with Evan," Rebecca said. "He asked me to come down after my summer job ended."

"So are you guys back together now?" Kelsey asked.

"We haven't really defined what we are right now," Rebecca said. "For all I know he could have just wanted some summer fun before law school started again. But I had fun too, so…"

"Really, I'm sure that's not all he wanted," Heather cut her off. "He loves you. Whatever you have is exclusive; I mean, you didn't even think about dating anyone else at all last semester, and neither did he."

"So what am I supposed to do; just ask him if he wants to get back together for real?" Rebecca asked.

"Yeah, I think that's what you're going to have to do," Kelsey said. "That's what he wants, is for you to want to get back together with him. For all he knows, he could have thought all you wanted was a summer fun buddy, too."

"He's going to have law school again this year," Heather said. "And you're going to have a lot going on, too, being a senior and ZBZ president. But I know you'd be lying if you said you didn't want to try again with him, for real."

"I do, and I think I will," Rebecca said. "I can't believe I'm getting relationship advice from my little sisters; no offense." Rebecca let out a small laugh.

"None taken," Heather said. "We may not know your relationship as well as say, Casey or Ashleigh, but we are girls and we've seen enough to know it's worth giving him another chance."

-GREEK-

"These garlic knots are delicious," Cappie said to Casey as they sat at a table at Gino's Pizzeria, waiting for Rusty and Ashleigh.

"Just wait until we have their pizza," Casey said. "This is my absolute favorite pizzeria ever; it's one of the few things I actually miss about Chicago."

"I noticed you never liked the pizzeria in Cyprus much," Cappie said. "I guess this place spoiled you."

"Yeah, it kinda did," Casey said with a laugh. "I actually worked here once."

"Really, I thought you waitressed in high school," Cappie said. "Honestly, I can't really see you as one of those people who tosses the pizzas in the air." Cappie chuckled.

"I wasn't," Casey said. "If I was, you're right, that would have been a disaster. I was a dishwasher; it was the first thing that came up after Mom made me get a job in high school. But I absolutely hated it and only worked here a week before a waitressing job opened up somewhere else."

"Casey, is that you?" Casey heard an older female voice behind her say. Casey turned around to see who it was, and was surprised to see who it was.

"Aunt Carol?" Casey asked surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm back in town for Brittany's wedding of course," Carol said. "I haven't seen you in at least eight years. I feel bad about how we fell out of touch."

"It's great to see you again," Casey said. "But does my dad know you're in town?"

"No, but I'd like to talk to him, if he'll talk to me," Carol said. "I'm going to try to catch him tomorrow at the wedding."

"Oh, well this is my boyfriend, Cappie," Casey introduced. "Cappie, this is my Aunt Carol, my dad's sister."

"It's nice to meet you, Cappie," Carol said. "I'm glad to see Casey's found someone."

"And I'm glad that someone is me," Cappie smiled. "Nice to meet you, too."

"You can join us," Casey said. "We're actually here waiting on Rusty. He spent the summer doing research in London and is coming back today."

"So I'm guessing he ended up going into science, after all," Carol said. "There's so much I need to catch up on about you two. I'm actually going to run to the restroom right quick, and I'll be right back."

"So I'm guessing there's a story behind your aunt," Cappie said once Casey's aunt walked away. "Do she and your dad not get along or something?"

"She was my favorite aunt when I was growing up," Casey said. "Partly because she lived right next door to me, and I would go over there when Rusty was annoying me. She worked for the government of Illinois for a long time, and when I was about twelve, she decided she wanted to run for Congress. I really don't know the whole story, but something happened during her campaign that caused her and my dad to have a huge falling out, and they haven't spoken since. She moved out of Chicago and I haven't heard from her since, either, until now."

"Maybe things have calmed down between them since it's been eight years," Cappie said.

"I hope so," Casey said.

-GREEK-

"Hi, I need to see the manager," Spidey said to the bartender working at Gentleman's Choice.

"Spidey, what brings you to Gentleman's Choice already?" Wade asked as he stepped out to the bar. "Were those little boys that bad to you this summer?"

"No, it's not that," Spidey said. "Officer Huck came by the house today and said we can't have any parties during Rush. IFC is going to be checking all the houses so we can't even do anything in the basement."

"Man, that stinks," Wade said. "That's Huckabee for you; always trying to spoil the fun."

"So I was wondering if we could have the Rush party here," Spidey said. "Since this is a private business and you're the manager, the university can't stop you from having a party. They just can't find out that there'll be Rushees here, which is why it'll have to be top secret."

"Yeah of course I'll have it here," Wade said. "Rush just wouldn't be the same without a top secret party."

"I gotta go tell the guys," Spidey said. "This is gonna be huge." Spidey said goodbye to Wade and walked out of Gentleman's Choice. He was about halfway up the street when he heard someone calling out to him. He turned around and saw it was Kelsey.

"Hey, fancy meeting you on this side of town," Spidey said.

"I could say the same about you," Kelsey said. "I just saw you walking out of Gentleman's Choice. Should I be concerned?"

"No, it was strictly business," Spidey said with a laugh, and Kelsey gave him a strange look. "No, not that kind of business. We needed a place other than the KT house to have our Rush party, thanks to Officer Huck."

"Yeah, he came by ZBZ a little while ago, too," Kelsey said. "The sisters aren't happy about there being no parties; they said the Rush parties always helped them decide which girls to give final bids to."

"Well what if you guys joined in on ours at Gentleman's Choice?" Spidey asked. "You can talk to Rebecca. I bet it would be even better if we got some of the other houses in on it; we just can't let anyone from the administration find out."

"That would be awesome," Kelsey said. "But shouldn't you talk to Rusty and the rest of your house, first?"

"It's a party; of course they're going to love it," Spidey said. "Rusty's still out of town, but I told Anthony Hopkins, our Rush chair, that I'd handle getting the party back on."

"Well, then I guess I'll bring it up with Rebecca," Kelsey said. "Even though I technically can't participate in Rush, I'm sure I can get her interested in the party."

"What do you mean you can't participate in Rush?" Spidey asked.

"Since I enrolled last semester, I'm still considered a pledge until the end of fall semester," Kelsey said. "Rebecca let me move into the house and I went through I-Week, but I still need one more semester of pledging before I'm a full active. Until we get a new pledge class, I'm stuck doing all the work at the house by myself for the most part."

"Believe me, I know the feeling," Spidey said. "At least you're the only pledge for a week and not a year. It feels great to finally be an active, let me tell you, and it'll be even better once we get our new pledge class."

-GREEK-

"So Casey, what have you been doing?" Carol asked her once she returned to Casey and Cappie's table. "I assume you went to college; are you still in?"

"I graduated a year ago, actually," Casey responded. "I'm working on a campaign now, but someday I hope to work back in D.C. That didn't go well the first time."

"What happened?" Carol asked.

"Well, we moved there after Cappie graduated in December," Casey said. "We couldn't find decent jobs, but maybe we just didn't give it enough time because we were only there three weeks."

"So what do you do, Cappie?" Carol asked.

"I got a job with my fraternity's national headquarters," Cappie said. "I'm a chapter consultant."

"Oh, you were in a fraternity?" Carol asked. "I was in a sorority in college; Gamma Psi Alpha. President from 1984 til 1986."

"I was a Zeta Beta Zeta," Casey said. "Gamma Psi was like our arch enemy. I was president for one semester; interim actually. Long story."

"So you're interested in politics?" Carol asked. "You're working on a campaign and want to go to D.C. For me, it was sorority politics that really got me interested in a political career."

"Yeah, I was really looking for a legislative aide job," Casey said. "But they're hard to come by unless you know somebody, but this job has been good experience so far. It's not permanent, though, so I'm hoping to come up with something else."

"Well it just so happens that I know someone who's hiring," Carol said.

"Really, who?" Casey asked.

"Me," Carol said. "Remember the last time I saw you was when I was running for Congress?"

"Yeah," Casey said. "You won? Dad never told me, and well I was twelve then and hadn't really discovered my interest for politics yet."

"I won, and I've been reelected every two years ever since," Carol said. "I really want to make things right with your father, and I'd love to have you come work with me if you've got a real interest in a political career."

"Wow, I don't know what to say," Casey said. "I'd really like that. You'd really do that for me?"

"Of course I would," Carol said. "I've missed you, Casey, and like I said, I feel really bad about what happened. I got way too carried away during my first election. I'll let you think about it and we'll talk more after the wedding tomorrow."

-GREEK-

"Rebecca?" Evan asked surprised as he answered the door to his apartment. "Did you miss me already; we just got back two hours ago."

"Maybe," Rebecca said with a small smile. "Can I talk to you?"

"Yeah of course," Evan said, stepping out of the doorway. "Come in. I could actually use a break from unpacking." Rebecca walked inside and remained silent for a moment.

"What's up?" Evan asked to break the silence.

"When I came down to see you," Rebecca began. "I wasn't exactly telling the truth when I said my summer job ended. Truthfully, my job was not good at all. I did all I could, but I just couldn't do anything right by my professor. We were not getting along and with about two weeks left of the summer I just couldn't take it anymore."

"You didn't get fired or anything, did you?" Evan asked.

"No, I just quit and then left town," Rebecca said.

"Wasn't your professor mad that you left?" Evan asked.

"I called him and told him that I had a bad case of the flu and wouldn't be able to work the rest of the summer," Rebecca said.

"I'm sorry to hear the job sucked," Evan said.

"The job may have sucked and the summer did for the most part," Rebecca said. "But I had fun when I came to see you. About what happened between us…" Rebecca trailed off.

"It was summer," Evan interrupted. "We got caught up in it and we hooked up. If you don't want it to mean anything more than that, it doesn't have to. We can still be friends."

"But what if I do want it to mean more than that?" Rebecca asked. "What if I don't want it to just be a summer fling?"

"Really," Evan said, surprised. "I don't want that either, but I thought that was what you wanted."

"I'm ready to try again," Rebecca said. "For real. If you want to, that is."

"You're really giving me a second chance?" Evan asked. "The one I've wanted since not long after we broke up."

"Yes," Rebecca said with a smile. "Don't make me regret it. I want to be with you; not just friends, or summer fun buddies, or friends with benefits…" Evan cut her off by kissing her.

"I want to be with you, too," Evan said. "And I promise you that you won't regret this." Evan kissed her again, and soon all of his unpacking was forgotten.

-GREEK-

"It's so great to see you guys again," Rusty said as he, Ashleigh, Casey, and Cappie were hanging out on the patio of the Cartwright home later that afternoon. "Even though I still can't wait to get back to CRU."

"I'm sure you're pumped for Rush," Cappie said.

"Yeah, I hope the guys are getting ready when I'm gone," Rusty said. "Cause the day I get back is the first day of Rush."

"I'm sure they won't let you down," Cappie said. "I have faith in them."

"Wow Russ, what didn't you take pictures of this summer?" Casey spoke up with a laugh as she was looking through pictures from Rusty's trip on his camera. "You really had a great time."

"I did," Rusty said. "I made a lot of progress on researching for the wire, my roommates were a lot of fun, and I'm going to apply for graduate school at Oxford."

"That's awesome," Casey said excitedly. "And, Ash, you'll be taking classes there next year."

"Yeah, Rusty and I talked about it," Ashleigh began. "And I'm really happy he's applying there."

"I want for us to be together next year," Rusty said with a smile. "If I get in, then it's for sure going to happen."

"I'm really proud of you guys, both of you," Cappie smiled. "And with everything you've done and the people you know there now, I can't think of a reason why you wouldn't get in, Russ."

"Thanks, Cap," Rusty smiled.

"I'm going to go get us some more drinks," Casey spoke up. "Can you come help me, Russ?"

"Sure," Rusty said and got up to follow Casey into the house.

"I'm really proud of you," Casey said once they were in the kitchen. "You know where you're going, which is so much more than I could say when I started my senior year."

"Thanks, Case," Rusty said. "Honestly, I always knew what I wanted to do, and that's science, but where I wanted to go I was never sure of. Now I am. I want to be with my girlfriend."

"Ash really loves you," Casey said. "When we went on our week-long casino vacation last month, we had a great time, but I could tell she missed you this summer."

"I really love her, too," Rusty said. "I know I've said that in every relationship I've been in, but this time I truly mean it." Just then the door to the kitchen swung open and Ashleigh walked in.

"Just going to the bathroom," Ashleigh said, with much more enthusiasm than a normal person would when having to pee.

"How much of that conversation did you hear?" Rusty asked.

"I heard enough," Ashleigh said with a big smile. She walked up to Rusty and kissed him, and Casey took that moment to stick her head in the fridge to get drinks for everyone. "I love you. Be right back."

"Case, the drinks are right there," Rusty pointed out when Ashleigh left, noticing Casey was still fumbling around in the fridge.

"Oh right, I knew that" Casey chuckled and started getting out cans of soda. "As happy as I am for you guys, there's still some things I don't care to be a witness to."

-GREEK-

"You look deep in thought," Cappie said as he walked into the guest room they were staying in that night and saw her sitting on the bed. "What's on your mind?"

"I'm just thinking about that job," Casey said. "I'm not sure if I should take it or not."

"Why would you not?" Cappie asked. "This is the type of job you were looking for in the first place."

"If I take it I could move to D.C. for real," Casey said. "But what would my parents think? Obviously something bad happened between my aunt and my dad. I've just been getting my parents to understand me better these last few years; how am I going to get my dad to understand why I would want to take a job with his estranged sister?"

"Case, if I know your parents," Cappie began. "And I think I've been getting to know them better every time we see them, then I think they're going to want you to take the job. They're success-driven and have always been onto you about having a plan. They wouldn't let something like family drama get in the way of your success."

"You think so?" Casey asked.

"I know so," Cappie said. "You need to take this job for yourself. See, you really were meant to be in D.C. It just took some time."

"So where does that leave you and me?" Casey asked. "If I'll be moving back to D.C., you'll still be working for Kappa Tau. Which is what you should keep doing, because it's great for you. But with me being in one place for the most part now…"

"Case," Cappie cut her off. "If you move back to D.C., I'm moving back with you. Yeah, I'll still be working for Nationals and I'll have to be gone sometimes, but not all the time. I've been working there almost six months; after six months they'll let me have more of a choice of my assignments, and I can get ones closer to D.C. I even found out there's a regional office close to D.C., so I might be able to work out of there more and not go to California so much."

"Well, then I guess we're moving back to D.C.," Casey said with a smile. "But we're not staying at the Shady Grove Inn."

"I'm pretty sure we won't have to stay there this time around," Cappie said with a laugh. "Because guess what, I found us an apartment."

"What, you got us an apartment?" Casey asked surprised. "I just found about this six hours ago; how do we have an apartment already?"

"Remember that one place we toured when we were in D.C. the first time that we both really liked?" Cappie asked.

"Yeah, the one we couldn't afford," Casey said.

"That's the one," Cappie said. "When you were helping your mom with dinner earlier, I called them and it turns out they have an opening. And we can afford it now."

"Wow, I almost think this is too good to be true," Casey said. "A job and an apartment all in one afternoon's time."

"Believe it, cause it's happening," Cappie said. "I wish I had something else to add to the day's events, but unfortunately I think that's it."

"I think it's enough excitement for one day," Casey smiled. "Thank you so much for calling about the apartment. Honestly, I didn't even remember what the place was called. I love you."

"I knew we'd be back in D.C. someday, so I made sure to keep the business card from them," Cappie said. "And I love you too; now get over here. We may not be able to do anything with your parents being right across the hall, but that doesn't mean you have to sit all the way over there." Casey laughed and scooted over to Cappie's side of the bed and into his arms.

-GREEK-

"Casey, I'm so glad you're going to be working with me," Carol said to Casey as she, Rusty, and Ashleigh were getting ready to leave for CRU the day after the wedding.

"I am too," Casey said. "Since we have an apartment now, I guess now's as good a time as any to get more of my stuff out of the Kappa Tau house. I'll meet you down there in about a week."

"Sounds great," Carol said, and went to say goodbye to Rusty and Ashleigh.

"You can just leave most of my stuff there if you want," Cappie said. "It'll give us an excuse to pay a visit back to CRU."

"I'll get what we need," Casey said. "And I know you miss CRU and the guys; I miss the girls, too. I promise we'll go up there every chance we get."

"I'm sure we will," Cappie said. "You know I'd go with you to help this time, but now it's off to my next assignment for work. Rush week has gone haywire at one of the chapters. But I'll be meeting you in D.C. as soon as I can."

"Good luck, and I'm looking forward to it," Casey smiled and kissed him. Rusty and Ashleigh came back over then.

"Ready to head to CRU?" Ashleigh asked.

"Ready as ever," Casey said. "I'll meet you guys there; I've just got to drop Cap off at the airport first."

"Good luck with Rush, Spitter," Cappie said. "What's the game plan?"

"Well we're trying again this year; if we want a good pledge class we have to," Rusty said. "But there's going to be no more deaths or parties being shut down. Spidey called last night and the party's going to be at Gentleman's Choice this year. That'll be our biggest event, and other than that we'll just have to go through the other Rush events and pick out potential KTs."

"Well, I'm sure it'll all pay off for you guys," Cappie said. "See ya soon. See ya, Ash."

"Bye, Cap," Ashleigh said.

"Let's go!" Rusty said excitedly. "Kappa Tau awaits!" Rusty and Ashleigh got into Ashleigh's car and drove off back to CRU, with Casey and Cappie following in Casey's car.

A/N: Hope you liked the first chapter! It was more of an introduction about where the characters are going next; review and let me know what you think. :) Casey and Rusty were at home for a wedding, but I decided not to include the actual wedding because the main focus of that was Casey's job, bringing Cappie, Casey, Rusty, and Ashleigh together in one place, and of course some Cappie/Casey scenes.

I'm definitely planning on making this story longer than my last one since it'll cover a whole year; not sure how many chapters yet, but I'll just see how it goes and what I come up with.


	2. Into the Rush

Episode #2: Into the Rush

Setting: During Rush week

Synopsis: The houses recruit new pledges during Rush. Meanwhile, Casey returns to CRU to prepare for her departure back to Washington D.C.

-GREEK-

"Go Greek!" a girl was yelling as she passed out flyers on the campus quad.

"The Go Greek Rally," Casey said as she read the flyer she was handed. "Wow, this is like déjà vu. I walked by this exact same spot on the first day of Rush last year, then realized how much I missed ZBZ and ended up as house mom."

"I miss ZBZ in a way but I don't miss the drama," Ashleigh said. "I like it how it is now; I can go hang out with Bex and the girls, but I no longer have to deal with any IKIs or Tegans or out of control sisters or whatever else."

"Unlike last year, this year I'm not feeling the need to run to the ZBZ house after walking by here," Casey said. "I can finally say I've moved on; I'll come back to visit and for alumni events but that's it."

"Yeah, you've got your new exciting job to think about now," Ashleigh said excitedly.

"I am excited," Casey smiled. "Maybe I didn't give D.C. enough time the first time around, but I'm glad it worked out this time and that's where I want to be. When Cap and I get settled we'll have an apartment warming party and you guys can come down on a weekend."

"Definitely, that sounds awesome," Ashleigh said.

"Any idea what's going on at the KT house?" Casey asked. "Is it safe to go get some packing up done?"

"Yeah I'm pretty sure it is," Ashleigh laughed. "Since they're actually doing the Go Greek Rally this year, Rusty's probably making sure they're getting ready for it."

"Casey!" a voice behind Casey and Ashleigh shouted.

"Katherine, hi!" Casey greeted when she turned around and saw her.

"It's nice to see you but what are you doing back?" Katherine asked. "Visiting for Rush week?"

"I'm visiting but not because of Rush week," Casey said. "I was going to try to catch up with you later. I'm here to pack up more of my stuff because I'm moving back to D.C."

"Really?" Katherine asked. "I know you told me your job was ending soon; you found another one?"

"Yeah, my estranged aunt who I haven't seen since I was twelve came back to Chicago and offered me a job as a legislative aide," Casey said. "She was running for US Congress when I saw her last, and I never found out she won, but she did, and she's still a congresswoman."

"Well I'm glad to hear," Katherine said. "And guess what, I just got a new job too, after my summer job ended."

"What is it?" Ashleigh asked.

"I'm the new alumnae liaison for Gamma Psi," Katherine said.

"I never thought you'd be the one who wanted to go back to the Greek system," Casey said.

"Well I took it in hopes of making contacts to get a job when I'm out of graduate school," Katherine said. "And school's not going to pay for itself. I have to make a speech to the rushees at one of the Rush events, which I have to go write, but I'll catch up with you guys later."

-GREEK-

"Are you sure this 'trying' thing is gonna work, Spitter?" Dump Truck asked at the first KT meeting of the year. "We can't afford to lose any more brothers."

"It's going to work," Rusty said. "And we're not going to lose any more. Since we can't have our party here, we'll have to go through the Rush events to pick out potential KTs to invite to the party at Gentleman's Choice."

"Are we really having the party with ZBZ and Tri Pi?" Pickle asked. "With the promise of chicks we're sure to get a lot of pledges."

"Yes, our Rush party is now a six-pack actually," Rusty said. "ZBZ, Tri Pi, Gamma Psi, Omega Chi, and Lambda Sig are in on it with us. Each house is going to pick their best rushees and invite them."

"Then from the party we'll decide who to give final bids to?" Spidey asked.

"Exactly," Rusty said. "Next order of business, officers. We've got three positions that need to be filled: social chair, philanthropy chair, and IFC delegate. So if anyone wants…"

"KAPPA TAU RULES!" the guys heard voices shout from the doorway, which interrupted Rusty. They turned to see Beaver, Wade, and Heath walking in armed with alcohol.

"Hey guys," Rusty greeted happily. "What are you doing?"

"We're here to party!" Wade exclaimed.

"You brought us booze?" Anthony Hopkins asked. "Sweet!"

"Consider it a welcome back gift from three of your favorite alums," Beaver said.

"So what do you say we have some fun before you start Rush?" Heath asked. "Unless you're all too busy."

"Please, are we ever too busy to party?" Pickle said.

"Of course not, we're KTs," Beaver said. "What do you say, Spitter?"

"What the heck," Rusty said. "We'll fill those positions after Rush. We've got a few hours to kill before the rally and since Rush technically hasn't started yet, let's do it!" The guys cheered and headed to the backyard.

-GREEK-

"Okay, can someone tell me what this signal means?" Rebecca asked to the group of ZBZ sisters who were sitting on the stairway. Heather raised her hand. "Yes, Heather."

"It means the rushees seem bored," Heather began. "And any sister who sees that signal should respond immediately."

"Yes," Rebecca said. "And this year we also have a new signal." Rebecca put one finger behind her back and moved it back and forth. "Rush chair Abby, what does that mean?"

"It means that a particular rushee isn't ZBZ material," Abby said. "For whatever reason, she doesn't meet our standards."

"That's exactly it," Rebecca said. "Since winning the Golden Lily award and being the number one chapter in the nation, there are going to be a lot more girls this year interested in pledging ZBZ. But since we're number one, we can only take the best, and not every girl is going to be up to ZBZ standards."

"So if you come across any of those girls when talking to the rushees," Abby said. "Just kindly excuse yourself and don't waste any more time on them."

"So in the time from now until the rally, I want you all to brush up on some of the recruitment drills we practiced," Rebecca said. "Remember, who's the best sorority on campus?"

"Zeta Beta Zeta!" The sisters said in unison.

"That's right!" Rebecca said. "See you all at the rally."

"Oh, and our Golden Lily shirts came in today," Abby spoke up, opening up a box that was sitting beside her. She pulled out one of the pink T-shirts that said, _'Zeta Beta Zeta Golden Lily Award Winner 2010-2011, Cyprus Rhodes University Chapter.'_ "Everyone come get one and make sure you wear them tonight." The girls began to group around Abby to get their shirts, and then the doorbell rang.

"Oh my God, what are you doing here?" Rebecca asked, surprised to see it was Tegan standing at the door.

"Well that was a nice greeting," Tegan replied sarcastically.

"Before you say anything, I have Rush all under control," Rebecca said. "Just tell me why you're here."

"If you'd let me speak I would," Tegan said. "I'm not here to impose. I'm just here to observe."

"Observe?" Rebecca asked. "For what?"

"Every year, I visit the Golden Lily award winning chapter during Rush to take note on their Rush strategies," Tegan said. "Then I take what I see back to Nationals to use as a lesson to our other not-so-good chapters."

"So you're using us as an example?" Rebecca asked.

"Yes, is that so hard to believe," Tegan said with a small laugh. "Why is it that every time I show up at a chapter, they all think I'm a mean, horrible person?"

"Do you really want an answer to that?" Rebecca asked with a laugh.

"No, that was a rhetorical question," Tegan said. "Now how about you get me some French water and let's have a little chat."

-GREEK-

"Hey Case, is this box going or staying?" Ashleigh asked Casey as they were packing up Casey's things in the spare room of the KT house.

"I don't even know what's in it," Casey said and came over to open it. "Oh, this is all my ZBZ stuff." She pulled out a few buttons that said, _'Casey for ZBZ President'_ that were on the top. "It'll go with me. I'm actually thinking about making a ZBZ scrapbook if I get bored sometime."

"That'll be cool," Ashleigh said.

"Yeah, I love the CRU one Cappie gave me, and that's what got me thinking I can make my own for ZBZ," Casey said. Just then they both jumped when they heard something hit the window.

"What on Earth is going on down there?" Casey asked, walking over to the window.

"Water bombs," Ashleigh said, seeing what it was that hit the window. "Someone has really bad aim."

"I didn't think Rusty would let them party like that this soon before Rush," Casey said.

"Well, it's either now or they have to wait until after Rush," Ashleigh said. "They still party all the time. That part of KT hasn't changed, and he doesn't want it to. The spirit of KT is always going to be the parties."

"The spirit of KT?" Casey asked with a small laugh. "Now you're really starting to sound like me after Cappie and I got back together the first time senior year. If you spend any more time here, you will start smelling like the place!"

"Hey, it really doesn't smell bad yet," Ashleigh laughed, knowing Casey was joking. "The house isn't even a year old and they had a pledge last year that actually knew how to clean. But I am starting to see what you did in the KTs. That they're so much more fun than the Omega Chis, excluding Calvin of course."

"Too bad the rest of ZBZ didn't think so," Casey said. "That's another thing I don't miss; having to live up to what others expect of me. Don't get me wrong, I love ZBZ, you know I do. But that's something that kinda bothered me, especially when I was dating Cappie. The ZBZs never really hated the KTs; it was just that there were other houses, like the Omega Chis or the Lambda Sigs, that were needed to help get ZBZ on top."

"I know what you mean," Ashleigh said. "For years I've had to live by what someone else or a group of people expected of me. In high school it was Travis, my former best friend Kristen, and these girls who were supposedly my 'friends'. Since I broke up with Travis, most of my high school group of friends barely talk to me anymore. Then in college it was living by ZBZ standards. Now, I can finally say I'm my own person and I've got no one to live up to but myself. No one else is telling me how to live my life or who to associate with except me. I know the people in my life now are my true friends, and I have to say I'm glad they are who they are." She smiled over at Casey.

"And I'm glad you are who you are, Ash," Casey said, smiling back. "We've both changed a lot since graduating, but it's been for the better, and I'm glad that with everything that's happened, we're still best friends."

"I am too," Ashleigh said. "So best friend, how'd you like some help to start carrying all this stuff to your car?"

"I have way too much crap," Casey said with a laugh. "So I would love that."

-GREEK-

"What's the emergency, Bex?" Casey asked as she and Ashleigh walked into the ZBZ kitchen after being called by Rebecca.

"We have an unexpected visitor who wants to talk to you both," Rebecca said.

"Oh God, is it…" Casey began.

"Tegan," Ashleigh interrupted, seeing her walk in the kitchen.

"Hi Casey, hi Ashleigh," Tegan greeted. "Sit down."

"Hi, uh, what are you doing here?" Casey asked.

"You can relax, Case, she's here to observe," Rebecca said, and looked over at Tegan. "And _only_ to observe."

"So why do you need us?" Ashleigh asked.

"Well, when Rebecca let it slip to me that you two were here," Tegan said. "It got me thinking of _one_ suggestion I have for this Rush."

"And what's that?" Casey asked.

"As I told Rebecca last year," Tegan began. "You two were the ones that helped this chapter get out of its turmoil. You're two of the best recent alumni and I want you to be examples to this years rushees. I'd like for you to attend some of the Rush events and talk to the girls about how you helped make this chapter the best, and how they can help keep it the best. You won't be mingling around as much as the sisters, but you'll be there as support."

"So much for moving on," Casey whispered to Ashleigh.

"Well, I guess one more Rush for old time's sake won't hurt," Ashleigh whispered back.

"Okay, we'll do it," Casey said.

"Excellent," Tegan said. "Alumni support is very important to ZBZ, and we want to show that to the new pledges. With that being said, I'm going back to my hotel. I will see you at the rally tonight."

"Remember, you're the fly on the wall," Rebecca said. "No butting in; my girls and I have got this."

"I know you do," Tegan said. "You've proven that."

"Wow, way to go Bex," Casey said once Tegan left. "You told her."

"Well, someone once told me to go around her and not right at her," Rebecca said with a small smile. "She knows I've got this; I just wanted to make sure she's not going to butt in any more."

-GREEK-

"Calvin," Trip came up to him at the Omega Chi house. "Don't get mad at me for bringing this up again, but I really think the KTs are up to something."

"What are you talking about?" Calvin asked.

"That party they're having at Gentleman's Choice," Trip said. "I think the reason they invited us and Lambda Sig in on it is that it's a ploy to try to steal our potential pledges."

"Rusty and the rest of Kappa Tau is not trying to steal our pledges," Calvin said firmly. "I thought this whole thing was finally behind us. There are three sororities in on it, too. It's just a party."

"And it's a party that I could get in trouble for if the administration finds out, since I am IFC president now," Trip said.

"You said you were cool with it and wouldn't say anything," Calvin said. "Didn't you say you thought the restrictions weren't necessary, anyway?"

"Yeah, but unfortunately I have to answer to the administration now," Trip said. "I just don't think it's worth it when we could just do something ourselves. Think about it. Kappa Tau is desperate for a big pledge class this year. And they're going to try anything to get that."

"Look, I can assure you that's not their plan," Calvin said. "Besides, it's not like we're competing for the same guys as the KTs. By the time of the party, the guys who'd like to pledge with us will know it. Plus, you can't deny the fact that the rushees will want to party; we're just giving them what they want."

"Well if you really want to do this, I still think we need to do something to really lock in our best rushees," Trip said.

"Not that I think it's necessary," Calvin said. "But we could do that. What about a trip to Canyon Lake before the party? That's something fun we do in Omega Chi that would really get some of the rushees interested."

"That's actually a great idea," Trip said.

"Yeah, we're going to have great pledges; don't worry," Calvin said. "Hey; you know of the head of Omega Chi's regional board, right?"

"Yeah, Dr. Andrews," Trip said. "But what's he have to do with anything?"

"His son is rushing here, and of course since Dr. Andrews was an Omega Chi, his son Brandon is one of our legacies," Calvin said.

"If his father's on the board we have to get him here," Trip said.

"But that shouldn't be the only reason we rush him," Calvin said. "Remember our Rush strategy this year, and that's diversity."

"Oh I'm all for diversity and rushing some international students like you talked about," Trip said. "But we still have to make sure to secure our top recruits."

-GREEK-

"Here come some girls," Rebecca said as they saw a group of rushees approach the ZBZ booth at the Go Greek Rally. "Get ready."

"That's Dale's little sister, Rachel," Laura pointed out one of the girls that was walking toward the booth.

"Laura, hey," Rachel greeted as she arrived at the ZBZ booth.

"Hey," Laura greeted. "So this is Rebecca Logan, ZBZ president."

"You look nothing like your brother," Rebecca said to Rachel, shaking her hand.

"I never get tired of hearing that," Rachel said with a smile.

"So why do you think you want to pledge ZBZ?" Rebecca asked.

"It's the best sorority on campus of course," Rachel responded. "Like I'd want to go anywhere else." Just then they heard the blasting of loud music coming from nearby. "Wait, are those the Kappa Taus?" Rachel asked, spotting the source of the noise. "I thought they were slackers who never did anything; at least that's what my brother always said."

"Yeah, their house hasn't done Rush events for almost ten years," Rebecca said. "But because of last year's debacle, they've got no other choice if they want a big pledge class I guess."

"Hey big sis," Heather said, walking over to Rebecca with a rushee following her. "This is Amanda and she's totally awesome!"

"Hey, here come some rushees," Rusty said over at the Kappa Tau booth, going to turn the music down.

"This place looks sweet!" one of the rushees said, approaching with two other guys.

"Oh, you ain't seen nothin' yet," Anthony Hopkins said.

"I'm Spitter, president of Kappa Tau Gamma," Rusty introduced. "Names. Home states."

"I'm Paul, and this is Larry and Ted," Paul said. "We're from Pennsylvania; we're suitemates and went to high school together."

"Anyone ever tell you that you look like the Three Stooges?" Dump Truck asked.

"Are you kidding; we get that all the time," Larry said. "Our friends back home say we're like their long lost grandchildren."

"So what do you know about Kappa Tau?" Rusty asked.

"Honestly, not a thing," Ted said. "But it sure looks like you guys have a good time, and this is college and we came to party."

"Then you definitely came to the right place," Rusty said.

"Did you say your name was Spitter?" Paul asked. "Your parents seriously named you that?"

"Not my parents," Rusty said. "Kappa Tau did."

"So if we pledge here we can get our own nicknames, too?" Ted asked.

"Maybe, you'll just have to wait and see," Rusty said. Paul, Larry, and Ted began mingling with some of the other brothers, and Rusty went to seek out some more rushees.

"Hey, I was just talking to this guy named Alfred Hitchcock," Spidey said, coming over to Rusty. "That's his real name."

"Last year we almost had a pledge named Jodie Foster," Rusty said. "But Alfred Hitchcock is just as good."

"What's up with that guy?" Trip asked Calvin at the Omega Chi booth, noticing a rushee standing nearby that seemed to not be enjoying himself. "He looks really out of place."

"I dunno," Calvin said. "But I'll go talk to him." Calvin walked over to the rushee and introduced himself. "I'm Calvin Owens, president of Omega Chi. And you are?"

"Rick Davis," Rick responded.

"So what do you think so far?" Calvin asked. "See any houses you like?"

"Not yet," Rick said. "But the one house I'm really looking at is Omega Chi."

"Of course you'd say that considering who you're talking to right now," Calvin said jokingly.

"No, seriously," Rick said. "Hopefully this doesn't sound stalkerish, but I've heard some things about you that I really like. And I think it's awesome that you're president."

"Uh, thanks," Calvin said surprised. "What kind of things are you talking about?"

"Just things about you that are similar to things about me," Rick said. "I'd rather not talk about it right now, but honestly, you might be able to figure it out. If you do, though, please don't tell anyone else. And I'd really like to be here. My grades are great, I actually enjoy philanthropy, and I like to have fun."

"Zeta Beta Zeta is so cool!" a girl exclaimed, walking over to Calvin and Rick. "Oh sorry, am I interrupting something?"

"No, it's fine," Rick said. "Calvin, this is my twin sister, Sarah. Sarah, this is Calvin, president of Omega Chi, the house I'm interested in."

"Nice to meet you, Sarah," Calvin said. "So Rick, are you coming to the rest of Rush week activities?"

"Yeah, I'll definitely be there," Rick said.

"I just found the guy I want to rush," Dale said, walking over to Calvin after Rick and Sarah left. "His name's Chris and I spent the last half hour convincing him that joining a fraternity isn't sinning in the eyes of God."

"So he's super religious?" Calvin asked. "How was he rushing if he thought it was a sin?"

"He claimed he was here to 'scope out the sin he'd have to avoid for the next four years'," Dale said. "But instead I talked him into rushing for real, and now he wants to pledge Omega Chi."

"Wow, Dale, I never knew you to be the bad influence," Calvin joked.

"Hey Dump Truck, isn't that your girlfriend over at ZBZ talking to Ashleigh and Casey?" Pickle asked back at the KT booth.

"Who?" Dump Truck asked, confused.

"That chick that lived next door to us at the old house," Pickle said. "What's her name, uh…"

"Hannah," Dump Truck responded, finally seeing her over at the ZBZ booth, and he walked over. "Hannah, what are you doing here? I thought you were in Wisconsin."

"I was, but I'm in college now and I'm rushing," Hannah responded. "But now that I'm 18, I'm all for picking back up where we left off, if you want to."

"Of course I want to," Dump Truck responded.

"Okay then, uh Case, I think Tegan wants to talk to us over there," Ashleigh said, as she was still standing there with Casey.

"Yeah, we're gonna go," Casey said. "Nice meeting you, Hannah. Go ZBZ!"

-GREEK-

"Whoa, is this a fraternity backyard or a playground for five year-olds?" Casey joked, walking out to the backyard of the KT house and seeing various inflatables set up.

"If there's one thing that a true Kappa Tau knows how to do, other than party," Rusty began. "It's being a kid. So we decided to rent inflatables for tonight when the rushees come to the house."

"I always loved these things," Ashleigh said. "When I was little my parents bought my sisters and I one of the bounce houses for Christmas. We could spend half the day on the thing and every kid on our street would come over to play."

"When Casey and I were little, they always had these things at the fair," Rusty said. "Casey and I would always race each other on the obstacle course, and I'd win every time."

"Hey, that's so not true," Casey protested. "I won sometimes."

"But nine times out of ten it was me," Rusty said. "Mom and Dad have the pictures to prove it."

"Am I sensing some Cartwright competition?" Ashleigh asked.

"Whenever we had to play together when we were little, it always turned into some sort of competition," Casey said. "Like who could go the highest on the swings, which is something I always won at."

"It helped convince our parents that we were actually having fun," Rusty said. "Remember Mom and Dad's talks when we were younger about how we should 'enjoy each other's company'?"

"Yeah, and it took us over twenty years to learn," Casey said.

"Well, you know there's an obstacle course over there and we've got some time," Ashleigh said. "You could relive some childhood memories and do a rematch."

"Yeah we should," Rusty said excitedly, looking at Casey. "What do you say, Case?"

"I don't know," Casey said skeptically. "I thought this stuff was for your rushees."

"What's the matter?" Rusty asked. "Are you afraid I'm going to beat you yet again?"

"In your dreams!" Casey said. "Okay then, let's go!"

"Oh I so wish I had a video camera for this!" Ashleigh said with a laugh as Rusty and Casey took off toward the obstacle course.

-GREEK-

"Calvin, Dale!" Rusty greeted, seeing them at the Rush party at Gentleman's Choice.

"Hey, haven't seen much of you since we've been back," Calvin said. "But given that it's been Rush week, I'm sure you've been plenty busy, as have I. How goes the rushing, by the way?"

"It's great," Rusty said. "I can tell we're gonna have some awesome pledges."

"Cal, are you sure we should be fraternizing with the enemy during Rush?" Dale spoke up. "I'm kidding. Let's get some drinks, because I can actually get drinks at a bar now, since as of two weeks ago I'm now legal."

"Yeah, I tried calling you on your birthday and you picked up the phone, shouted 'God, give me beer!' and hung up," Rusty said. "What was that all about?"

"Laura got me drunk," Dale said. "And then after that my parents showed up for a surprise visit."

"Oh wow, what did they say when they saw you drunk?" Calvin asked, as they sat down at a table with their drinks.

"I don't think they were happy," Dale said. "But I was legal so they didn't get mad at me. Then Laura took us all out to my family's favorite restaurant for dinner and it all was forgotten."

"Whenever I think of your parents I think of Freshman Parents' Weekend," Rusty said. "I still can't believe they're okay with you being in a fraternity."

"Honestly, I wasn't sure what they'd think either at first," Dale said. "Did I ever tell you that after that weekend, they went back home and signed up for a class on parenting college students?"

"Seriously?" Calvin laughed.

"Yeah, so they took that parenting class and they've been different ever since," Dale said.

"Calvin," someone said, walking over to their table with another guy.

"Sadao, Eugène," Calvin greeted the two guys. "Enjoying the party?"

"We are," Sadao said. "I think college in America is going to be better than I thought."

"And we really like your house," Eugène said. "And we'd be lying if we said we didn't want to join it."

"Well I'd have to say that chances look pretty good for you guys," Calvin said.

"Thanks, and I'm sure we'll see you later," Sadao said.

"Those are two guys that want to pledge with us," Calvin told Rusty. "Sadao is from Japan, and Eugène is from France."

"So now we're telling the enemy about the guys we want to rush," Dale joked.

"Contrary to what Trip might have said, we didn't plan this party to steal anyone else's pledges," Rusty said. "Tonight's the last night of Rush; by now everyone knows where they want to pledge."

-GREEK-

"I'm so glad Tegan's gone," Rebecca said as she sat in Dobler's with Casey and Ashleigh.

"Well you have to admit," Casey began. "She did stick to her word and was only here to watch us. The fly on the wall, as you said."

"I know," Rebecca said. "There's just something about being in her presence that makes me feel less in control."

"Tell me about it," Casey said. "But you were in control of Rush, and you are in control of the house. You're doing a great job."

"Coming from my big sis, that means a lot," Rebecca smiled. "And I really didn't mean to drag you guys into Rush; it just slipped out when I told Tegan that you'd be here."

"Sure it did," Casey joked. "I think, somewhere deep down you wanted us there."

"Maybe very, very deep down," Rebecca said jokingly.

"It was fun talking to some of the girls," Ashleigh said. "I think you'll have some awesome pledges this year. Just then, Evan came over and sat at their table.

"Hey Rebecca," he greeted and gave her a kiss. 'Case, congrats on you and Cap moving back to D.C."

"Uh, thanks Evan," Casey said, looking back and forth between Rebecca and Evan confused.

"Is there something going on here?" Ashleigh asked. "Oh my God you guys are back together!"

"Surprise, yeah we are," Rebecca said.

"So you managed to tell Evan about me and Cap going back to D.C., but you haven't told us about you and Evan getting back together?" Casey asked.

"Sorry," Rebecca said with a laugh. "Honestly, we haven't told anyone yet. I've been so busy with Rush and Evan's getting ready for law school to start again."

"Well I'm so happy for you guys," Ashleigh said. "It's about time!"

"Sorry guys but I've gotta run," Rebecca said, looking at the time on her phone. "It's time for the traditional all-night sleepover to decide on which girls to bid. I'll catch you before you leave tomorrow, Case."

"I'll go get us some more drinks and let you two catch up a minute," Ashleigh said to Casey and Evan once Rebecca left.

"I'm ready for it," Evan said to Casey once Ashleigh walked away.

"Ready for what?" Casey asked confused.

"The lecture I know I'm about to get from you," Evan said with a laugh.

"Well here goes," Casey laughed. "I'm glad she gave you a second chance."

"Really, you are?" Evan asked.

"Yes," Casey said. "Because I know it's going to make you both happy. Now here's the lecture: just make sure you're both on the same page. Because if you aren't, you're just going to end up right back where you ended the first time. And if that happens this time, I don't see her giving any third chances."

"Believe me, Case, I'm going to get things right this time," Evan said. "I wanted this second chance, I got it, and I'm not going to blow it."

-GREEK-

"Okay, who's got the pictures of the rushees?" Rusty asked the KT brothers.

"I do," Anthony Hopkins said, and went to put up the first picture on the display screen.

"Oh I remember this guy," Pickle spoke up. "Tyler Benson. He puked all over a Tri Pi at the party last night."

"So he can't hold his liquor," Rusty said. "Some time in Kappa Tau could teach him."

"We could call him Barf," Dump Truck said. "I say he's in; who's in agreement?" The majority of the brothers raised their hands.

"Okay, Barf's in," Rusty announced. "Next."

"Who the heck is he?" one of the brothers spoke up when the next picture was displayed.

"I don't know, but he looks about forty," another guy said. The majority of the brothers shook their heads.

"Okay, next," Anthony Hopkins said and put up a new picture. "Oh, this guy's cool. But the weirdest thing was I was talking to him one minute, and then I turned around and he was just gone, and then a minute later he popped back up out of nowhere."

"He did the same thing to us," someone else spoke up. "Hey, he can be Flash. I don't even remember his real name."

"Brandon Andrews," Rusty said, looking at his clipboard. "All in favor?" The majority raised their hands. "Okay, he's in. Next."

"Oh, the Three Stooges," Dump Truck said once the next picture was revealed. "They're definitely in, right?"

-GREEK-

"Well I think we've officially packed my car as full as it's going to get," Casey said to Rusty and Ashleigh as she was getting ready to leave for D.C.

"Don't forget these," Ashleigh said, handing Casey a tray with cupcakes and cookies.

"Bex said she made these for me, but I know differently," Casey said with a chuckle. "I can tell they were leftovers from Rush."

"Well, it's the thought that counts," Ashleigh said.

"Have a safe trip down, Case," Rusty said and gave Casey a hug. "I've got some deliveries to make."

"What kind of deliveries?" Casey asked.

"The bids for the rushees," Rusty said.

"Sticky notes?" Casey asked, seeing what Rusty had in his hand.

"It's always been the KT way," Rusty said.

"Well good luck with bid night, Russ," Casey said. "I'll see you both soon."

"Bye, Case," Ashleigh said and gave her a hug. "Go kick some butt at your new job!" Casey laughed and waved one last goodbye and she was off. She wasn't even off of Greek Row when her phone rang.

"Hey Cap," Casey answered, seeing it was Cappie calling her. "I just left."

"Finally off of sorority sister duties?" Cappie asked.

"Yeah, but it was actually fun and better than I thought," Casey said. "What's up?"

"I just got off the phone with our landlord," Cappie said. "He said you could stop by his office and move into the apartment as soon as you get in tonight."

"Wow that's great," Casey said. "I was expecting to have to find a hotel for the night." Just then she heard someone honking their horn behind her.

"Oops," Casey said, as she realized she'd been sitting at the stop sign at the end of Greek Row for a bit too long. "Sorry to cut this short, Cap, but I'm driving. Thanks for telling me about the apartment and I'll give you a call when I stop for gas."

"I'll let you go before you get pulled over for talking on the phone while driving," Cappie joked. "Have a safe drive down. By the way I should be done with my assignment in the next few days, and then I'll be down to help us move in."

"Looking forward to it," Casey said with a smile. "I'll call you later; love you."

"Love you too, Case," Cappie said and they hung up.

-GREEK-

"Where in the world could he be?" Trip asked Calvin at the Omega Chi bid night at Dobler's.

"He who?" Calvin asked.

"He who?" Trip asked in a duh tone. "Dr. Andrews' son. Our number one recruit. He's not here."

"Relax, Trip," Calvin said. "I'm sure something urgent came up or else he would be here. Maybe he got sick; if that's the case he'll probably come by tomorrow and as president, I can let him in late."

"Well, he better be lying in a ditch somewhere if he's not here," Trip said.

"Well honestly, I hope that's not the case," Calvin said. "Besides, look at the pledges we do have, and our numbers went up from last year's pledge class."

"So when can we start ordering these suckers around?" Dale asked, walking over to Calvin and Trip.

"Tonight, it's all about letting them celebrate joining the fraternity," Calvin said.

"Yep, and then tomorrow, we start hazing the crap out of 'em," Trip said.

-GREEK-

"I love our new pledges!" Heather said to Rebecca in the ZBZ kitchen.

"These girls sure know how to eat," Laura said, entering the kitchen. "We're out of ice cream. Again."

"Whoa, what's up with your hair?" Rebecca asked, noticing Laura's hair looked different than normal. "It actually looks good."

"Uh, thanks I guess," Laura said. "Rachel did it. She's going to come in handy when it comes time for formals; she's a French braiding pro."

"You're really hitting it off with Dale's sister," Rebecca said.

"Yeah, she's actually cool," Laura said. "I don't understand why she and Dale don't get along. But they're siblings; I guess it's human nature for them not to."

"Hey, Abby said to come get you guys," a new pledge said, entering the kitchen followed by another one. "We're all playing Truth or Dare in the living room."

"We'll be right out," Heather said.

"Oh Amanda, Hannah," Rebecca stopped the two pledges before they could leave the kitchen. "Here's some more ice cream for you and your pledge sisters. This is all you're getting, so share carefully."

-GREEK-

"Everyone, can I have your attention please!" Spidey yelled at KT bid night at the house. The backyard quieted down. "I'd like to introduce Alfred Hitchcock, AKA Alfred Hitchcock, and Harry Scott, AKA Barney, two new KT pledges!" The brothers cheered as the new pledges were sprayed with beer. "That was so awesome to say!" Spidey said, walking over to a group of the brothers.

"We did great you guys," Rusty said excitedly. "We've got a pledge class of twenty eight already."

"Hey why is that guy called Barney anyway?" Anthony Hopkins asked.

"He made a drunken confession at the party that he watched Barney until he was twelve," Rusty said.

"And to think we almost had to miss out on seeing how crazy freshmen are when they get drunk for the first time," Pickle spoke up. "Gentleman's Choice was epic!"

"Yeah, it looks like KT has a new Rush tradition," Anthony Hopkins said. "But I'm just glad Rush is over now and we could still have our bid night party here."

"Hey guys!" the group of brothers heard a voice behind them, and turned to see three of their new pledges.

"Larry, Curly, and Moe!" Dump Truck greeted.

"Now this is college!" Paul, AKA Pledge Curly, said.

"Just wait until we start meeting girls, and it'll be even better," Ted, AKA Pledge Moe, said.

"There's two more," Rusty said as he saw two guys enter the KT backyard, and went to introduce them. "Everyone, meet two more KT pledges, Tyler Benson, AKA Pledge Barf, and Brandon Andrews, AKA Pledge Flash!"

A/N: Hope you like the new pledges! Some of them will be important and there'll be some plots with them in future chapters, but that won't take away from our other Greek characters we love! :) Also, consider every rushee whose name was mentioned during Rush as a new pledge, even if they weren't mentioned during the bid night scenes.


	3. A Case for Peace

Episode #3: A Case for Peace

Setting: The week after Rush, first day of classes.

Synopsis: Rusty and Calvin attempt to put an end to the Kappa Tau and Omega Chi rivalry once and for all. Meanwhile, classes begin for CRU students and Cappie and Casey settle into their apartment in D.C.

-GREEK-

"First day of classes," Ashleigh said to Rusty as she sat down with Rusty in the KT kitchen. "I really have to get used to this whole going to class thing again."

"But how awesome is it to have a boss that's paying for you to go to grad school?" Rusty asked.

"Pretty awesome I must say," Ashleigh smiled. "Clarissa is the best. After I finish my two year program, I'll be able to help when she expands her firm."

"Breakfast?" a pledge asked as he gave Rusty and Ashleigh each a bowl of cereal and a cup of coffee.

"Thanks Pledge Curly," Rusty said.

"What do I do now?" Curly asked. "Five of us who don't have classes to get ready for now reported for pledge duty, but no one's responsive except for you and Spidey, and he's in the shower."

"You're not going to see many of the guys up at 8AM on a Monday," Rusty said. "Grab that paper on the fridge; that's the class schedule for all the brothers. Study it, memorize it, and I want you pledges to make sure everyone's awake, fed, and in their classes on time."

"Got it," Curly said, grabbing the paper and leaving the kitchen.

"Wow you've sure got a handle on your pledges already," Ashleigh said, beginning to eat her cereal.

"Bringing us breakfast is only the beginning," Rusty said. "They've got a lot to learn, starting with the first pledge meeting tonight. Don't forget our back to school barbecue is here tonight."

"Of course, I'll be here as soon as I get off work," Ashleigh said.

-GREEK-

"I hope you're all ready to start the rest of your lives," Professor Hastings announced in Rusty and Dale's class. "Actually, whether you're ready or not, you're all graduating in nine months and then it's out into the big bad world. This is not going to be a cakewalk; you've all made it this far, don't blow it now and spend your last year goofing off." He was eying Rusty as he finished speaking.

"Notice how he always stares at you whenever he's giving us a lecture?" Dale whispered to Rusty and chuckled.

"Yeah, even though I now have one of the highest GPAs out of all the senior engineering majors," Rusty whispered back.

"Second highest, next to me," Dale whispered back.

"Senior seminar is about challenging you, and preparing you, for what lies ahead," Professor Hastings continued. "You'll be writing a paper and giving a presentation based research you're doing. During fall semester you'll be working on the introductions to your paper and presentation, and you'll be presenting them at the annual engineering awards at the end of the semester."

"Seniors never presented at last year's awards," a student spoke up. "Or the year before that."

"It's something new we're trying this year," Professor Hastings said. "There are alumni attending who have connections to graduate schools and top engineering companies, and if they like what they see, you have the chance at a job or admission into a top graduate school. So be prepared to work hard. I want your thesis statements by next week's class, and read the first three chapters of the text." Professor Hastings dismissed the class and everyone began leaving.

"You know what you're doing yet?" Dale asked Rusty as they got ready to leave.

"Yeah, I pretty much know what my thesis is going to be," Rusty said. "I just have to write it down. I'm going to go with what I was working on this summer and do more with that."

"Yeah I think I am too," Dale said.

"Max told me this class is hard," Rusty began. "But it's easier if you know what you want to work on for a project."

"Wait, Max?" Dale asked confused. "When did you see him?"

"He's at Oxford now, remember," Rusty said. "So I saw him this summer."

"Cartwright, Kettlewell, halt!" Professor Hastings said before Rusty and Dale could leave the room.

"Yeah, Professor Hastings," Rusty said.

"You're my top two seniors," Professor Hastings began. "If you keep it up, you're both going to get good scholarships. But you still have to take this year seriously if you want that to happen."

"What makes you think we won't?" Rusty asked. "I just had the best summer research experience and I already know what my thesis is going to be."

"Well that's good to hear," Professor Hastings said. "Just with you being president of that frat now; don't let that get in the way of your studies."

"I was president last semester and still ended up with a 3.9 GPA," Rusty said.

"I'm just warning you," Professor Hastings said. "Same goes for you, Kettlewell."

"I know you don't exactly like fraternities, Professor Hastings," Dale said. "But I'm just as dedicated to engineering now as I was when I was against the Greeks."

-GREEK-

"Hey Ashleigh, you don't happen to have anything to eat, do you?" Heath asked Ashleigh as he sat down next to her in their class.

"Yeah, I have this," Ashleigh said, pulling an energy bar out of her bag and giving it to him. "Overslept?"

"Thanks, and yeah," Heath said. "My alarm clock is one of many things I haven't found and unpacked yet, and Wade forgot to go to the grocery store yesterday like he was going to."

"Oh yeah, you guys moved into Rusty and Dale's old apartment, right?" Ashleigh asked.

"Yeah, and Rusty was right, that landlady is creepy," Heath said.

"Welcome to International Business," the professor announced at the front of the room. "I'm Professor Franklin. So we live in the twenty first century, and the way the world is today, it's inevitable that in running a business, you're going to come in contact with people not just within our own country, but around the world. For a small business, it could just be serving customers from other countries. But for a larger business, it may be actually expanding and doing business internationally. That's going to be the focus of this class. Obviously since you're taking this class at a graduate level, you've got some aspirations for a career in international business. How about you, in the brown shirt, second row. What's your name?"

"Heath," Heath answered.

"So tell me, Heath," Professor Franklin said. "What is your aspiration?"

"Well I've been a volunteer in India and Japan this past year," Heath said. "And it got me thinking about someday starting my own nonprofit organization to help countries around the world."

"I think that's excellent," Professor Franklin said. "The world needs people like you who want to help. What about you, next to Heath. Oh, I recognize you; you're one of Professor Clarissa's employees, right?"

"Yeah I am; I'm Ashleigh," Ashleigh said. "I'm going for a graduate degree in international marketing."

"Well I have to commend you on that decision," Professor Franklin said. "There'll be a lot of opportunities in that field. Now the major thing you'll be working on in this class is the semester project, in which you'll be developing a mock business plan and determining how you would compete in the international market. You'll be working in groups of two on this."

"You're the only person I know in here," Heath whispered to Ashleigh. "Want to work together?"

"Yeah, sounds great," Ashleigh said.

"By next class I'd like you in teams and to have a project idea from each team," Professor Franklin said.

-GREEK-

"Okay, I think I've got this now," Cappie said to Casey as they were trying to set up their TV at their new apartment. "The cord with the yellow end goes in this spot right here, and the red one goes here." Cappie plugged in the wires and turned on the television. "Well, at least it turns on now, that's a step up."

"But it's nothing but static," Casey said, gesturing toward the picture on the TV. "Maybe we should just call a technician; we've been messing with this stuff all morning."

"Nonsense, it may take some time, but I'm going to figure it out," Cappie said. "Oh, what are those wires over there? They must go to something."

"I think the DVD player," Casey said. "Or maybe the speakers; I really don't know. My dad always did this stuff."

"Honestly, I don't know what I'm doing either," Cappie said with a laugh. "But I watched Dale hook up the entertainment center at the KT house, and it didn't look that hard."

"He's in electrical engineering; I'm sure it was easy to him," Casey said. "I'm going to go online and look for a technician." Just then someone knocked on their door, and Casey and Cappie went to answer it.

"Hello," Casey greeted the woman and small child she saw when she opened the door.

"Hi, I'm Katie," the woman said. "And this is my two year-old daughter, Elizabeth. We live right across the hall from you. I made you this as a welcome to the building gift." Katie handed Casey an apple pie.

"Thank you," Casey said with a smile. "I'm Casey, and this is my boyfriend, Cappie."

"Nice to meet you," Cappie greeted.

"Nice to meet you both, too," Katie said. She turned to her daughter. "Lizzy, can you say hello to Casey and Cappie?"

"Hi," the small child said shyly and then cowered behind her mother.

"She's just shy," Katie said. "If you need any help getting settled or finding anything around here, I'd be happy to help."

"Thanks," Casey said. "Do you happen to know anything about entertainment centers? We've been trying to hook up our TV, stereo, and DVD all morning but aren't having very much luck."

"Honestly, I'm illiterate when it comes to electronics," Katie said with a laugh. "But it just so happens that my husband, Tom, is an electronics technician. He's at work right now, but I know he'd be happy to come over and get you set up when he gets back this evening."

"That would be much appreciated," Casey said. "And we'll pay him for it."

"Oh, that won't be necessary," Katie said. "He always helps our neighbors out for free, and you're no exception."

"Well how would you all like to come over for dinner tonight, then?" Casey asked. "I was planning on cooking later, anyway."

"Sure, we'd love that," Katie said. "It'll give us a chance to get to know each other better. It's about time to get Lizzy some lunch now, but we'll see you tonight. Nice meeting you." Casey and Cappie said goodbye and Katie left with her daughter.

"She seems really nice," Cappie said to Casey as they walked back inside their apartment. "But I guess you have no faith in me hooking up the television."

"I have plenty of faith in you, but no, not in hooking up the television," Casey said with a laugh, knowing Cappie was joking. "Or the other electronic equipment we have yet to set up."

"Since we've made a date with the neighbors, we should probably hit the grocery store," Cappie said.

"Yeah, there's one just a few blocks up from here," Casey said. She set the apple pie Katie gave her on the kitchen counter.

"You know, that pie looks pretty good," Cappie said. "We're gonna have to have some of that later."

"Do you mean the actual pie, or the stuff that goes along with eating pie?" Casey asked, smiling at Cappie.

"I'd have to say both," Cappie said with a smile.

-GREEK-

"Hey, go get us a snack, pledge," Spidey said to a pledge passing by as he and Rusty sat at the picnic table in the KT backyard doing homework.

"Cheesaritos?" the pledge asked.

"Yeah," Spidey said, and the pledge left to get the food. "This is the life. It would be better if I didn't have so much organic chemistry homework already, but that's just Hastings."

"Just make sure you stay on top of that class," Rusty said. "Sophomore year is the most competitive, and organic chemistry can make or break you. That's the class that almost got me kicked out of the honors engineering program."

"Really, that almost happened to you?" Spidey asked surprised. "I really can't see that."

"Well it was because I had a lot going on at the time," Rusty said. "And that was when I learned to really balance everything in my life."

"I'm convinced that Hastings hates me or something," Spidey said. "He was giving us all a lecture today about not slacking off and he was staring at me most of the time he was talking. I ended up with a 3.85 GPA for last year; what more does he want?"

"He does the same thing to me, and even Dale now," Rusty said. "I thought he hated me, but it's not really me or you he hates; he just hates fraternities. I found out he had some advisees in the past that failed out because of being in fraternities, and that's why he's on to people like us so much."

"So basically he's trying to keep us on track?" Spidey asked.

"Yeah, you just have to try your best to prove yourself to him," Rusty said. "I've been doing that for the last three years and sometimes it seems like a losing battle. At least he gave me the recommendation for this summer, but he still thinks I'm going to somehow slack off this year. Sorry to say this, but he might be even tougher on you this year because of what happened to me two years ago."

-GREEK-

"Cal, there's some man from Nationals downstairs who wants to talk to you right away," Dale said, entering Calvin's room.

"Did he say why?" Calvin asked confused.

"All he said was he was sent by Dr. Andrews, our regional board administrator," Dale said.

"I wonder if it has anything to do with why his son went MIA after Rush," Calvin said.

"What's the deal with this kid, anyway?" Dale asked. "Trip acted like it was the end of the world when he didn't come to bid night."

"Omega Chi takes our legacies seriously," Calvin said. "Personally, I don't really understand it, but something must have happened and I'll soon find out." He began walking downstairs and saw a man who looked about thirty standing in the foyer.

"Hello, I'm Calvin Owens, president of Omega Chi," Calvin introduced to the man. "How can I help you?"

"I'm Brian, a representative from Nationals, and I'm sure your brother told me I was sent by Dr. Andrews," Brian said. "He received word that his son pledged at another house, and he's concerned and wants me to find out what happened."

"Wait, Brandon's at another house?" Calvin asked surprised. "I didn't know that. I tried to look for him after he didn't come to bid night, but I couldn't find him anywhere."

"Well, I'm here to help get to the bottom of the situation," Brian said. "Plus, we looked at your records and it shows that this chapter hasn't had an inspection from Nationals in over five years, so they decided it's about time you had one. I'll be staying here for a few days. Please get a few of your pledges to get my bags out of my car and show me to your guest room."

"Sure," Calvin said. "By the way, do you have any idea which house Brandon is pledging at?"

"Yes, he's pledging at Kappa Tau Gamma," Brian said.

"Wait, what?" Trip asked, entering the room with a group of Omega Chi brothers and overhearing the conversation. "Kappa Tau, seriously?"

"That's what Dr. Andrews said," Brian said. "And that's another reason why I'm here; we've heard about some of the trouble your house had with Kappa Tau in recent years, and we wanted you to work things out yourselves. It seemed that you had, but before I leave, I need to make sure that's actually true."

"Hey Rick, Chris," Calvin said to the two pledges he saw enter the room. "This is Brian from Nationals. He's going to be staying here a while; show him to the guest room and help him with his bags."

"Even though I really want to, I'm not going to say 'I told you so'," Trip said to Calvin once Brian and the pledges left the room.

"Then I'll say it," another brother spoke up. "We told you so. Here are the KTs trying to screw us over again. And after we bought them the house and everything last year."

"They're not trying to screw us over," Calvin said. "Would they really plan the party and invite us just to steal one of our pledges?"

"But this is only the beginning," someone else said. "They're easing back into the game to make us think they're not messing with us, but then they're going to pull something even bigger than stealing our top recruit."

"Look, you don't know Rusty like I do," Calvin said. "I'm sure the whole thing was just a misunderstanding. I promise I'm going to handle it, so don't be thinking of any plans for retaliation, because it's not necessary."

-GREEK-

"Calvin, hey," Rusty greeted as he saw Calvin enter the KT house. "I was just heading back outside. The barbecue is in full swing; come on out and the pledges will get you some food."

"Actually, I need to talk to you about something first," Calvin said.

"What's going on?" Rusty asked.

"This guy Brian from Nationals showed up at the house today," Calvin said. "He said he's going to be staying there for a few days."

"What, for some kind of chapter inspection?" Rusty asked. "Like Tegan at ZBZ?"

"Sort of, but not exactly," Calvin said. "We had this legacy, who is the son of our regional board administrator, and he chose to pledge another house. His dad sent Brian to investigate."

"Did he tell you where this guy pledged?" Rusty asked.

"Yeah, he did," Calvin said. "Do you have a pledge named Brandon Andrews?"

"Yeah, Flash," Rusty said. "He's out back making burgers."

"He's the one," Calvin said.

"What?" Rusty asked surprised. "He's your legacy? I honestly had no idea."

"I know you didn't," Calvin said. "Some of the brothers thought differently when they found out, though."

"So what's the deal?" Rusty asked. "Brian is not going to leave you alone if Brandon doesn't pledge Omega Chi?"

"He didn't say that necessarily," Calvin said. "I think he just wants to know what happened and if it should be a cause of concern for our chapter. If Brandon's out back, I'll go talk to him."

"No, I'll talk to him," Rusty said. "He's currently our pledge; I'll see if I can find out what happened."

"I can't believe this crap is happening again," Calvin said. "I thought it was all over last year, for good. Also, Brian is here to make sure that Omega Chi's issues with Kappa Tau are over."

"They are over," Rusty said. "All we have to do is handle this in a way that shows they are, and if you and I work together, we can prove that to both our houses and the guy from Nationals."

"What way is that?" Calvin asked.

"That I don't know yet," Rusty said. "I'll start by talking to Flash, er, Brandon, and we'll go from there." Rusty and Calvin walked outside, and Rusty went to talk to the pledge and Calvin saw Ashleigh and Heath sitting on the grass looking like they were working on homework.

"Pledge Flash, I need to talk to you a minute," Rusty said. "Alfred Hitchcock, take over on the burgers."

"The Omega Chi president told you what happened, didn't he?" Flash asked once he and Rusty walked back inside the house. "I just saw him come outside."

"Yeah, Calvin told me," Rusty said.

"How did he and the house even find out?" Flash asked. "I've been hiding from them since Rush."

"Your dad sent a guy from Omega Chi Nationals to their house," Rusty said.

"Seriously?" Flash said disgusted. "That's just like him. Why can't he just get that I don't want to be like him; that I'm more than just Dr. Andrews' son? It's getting really old. And did he really have to get all business-like and send someone else to find out, instead of just asking me himself?"

"So why you didn't pledge Omega Chi, it's about your dad?" Rusty asked.

"Yeah," Flash said. "All my life he's expected me to be like him and live up to his expectations. I thought in college I could change that and make my own life. And that's why I pledged here and not Omega Chi."

"So it's really nothing against Omega Chi that you didn't pledge there?" Rusty asked.

"Not particularly," Flash said. "They did only seem to want me because of who I'm related to, but other than that, I've got nothing against any of the guys. Calvin seems really nice. It's just, I liked the feel of KT better; you guys really seem to have a good time, and that's what I want out of college. I really didn't mean to get Omega Chi in trouble."

"I think there's a way we can keep you here and not start anything with Omega Chi," Rusty said.

-GREEK-

"Hey, what's going on?" Calvin asked, sitting down next to Heath and Ashleigh when Rusty was talking to Flash.

"We just came up with a topic for our assignment for international business," Heath said.

"Awesome, what is it?" Calvin asked.

"Well, Clarissa's firm is all about marketing to college students," Ashleigh said.

"And you know how you and I talked about starting a volunteering organization someday," Heath said.

"So we decided to combine the two and create a mock business focused on getting college students and graduates to volunteer around the world," Ashleigh said.

"That's a great idea," Calvin said. "You sound so grown-up serious, to use Ash's catch phrase."

"Yeah, this is even more serious than college," Ashleigh said. "But I'm still not going to turn myself into a grandma before my time."

"We've got the fact that we still hang out at a fraternity house regularly to keep us young," Heath said.

"Hey Ash," Ashleigh heard a voice behind her, and turned around to see Kelsey standing behind her.

"Hey," Ashleigh greeted. "Haven't seen you around much since you got back. What's been going on?"

"Been busy with house stuff I guess," Kelsey said. "And dealing with some stuff back home, and looking for a job." Calvin and Heath excused themselves to get food, and Kelsey sat down with Ashleigh.

"Looking for a job?" Ashleigh asked. "Did you find one?"

"Actually yeah, that's what I wanted to tell you," Kelsey said. "I talked to Clarissa and she's hiring me back for a part-time paid position. She said with you and some of her other employees taking classes this year, she could use an extra part-time person. She just told me today after you left."

"That's great," Ashleigh said excitedly. "You loved it there and I know Clarissa really liked you."

"Hey, want some food?" Spidey asked, walking up behind Kelsey.

"I'll get something in a bit," Kelsey said. "Come sit; I was just talking about my new job."

"What new job?" Spidey asked, sitting down with them.

"I'm working at Clarissa's firm again part-time," Kelsey said. "This time it's paid."

"That's awesome," Spidey said.

"Yeah, and it's one thing that's going to help get my parents off my back," Kelsey said.

"What's going on with them?" Ashleigh asked.

"It's a long story," Kelsey said. "But at least they agreed to let me come back here this year; that's all that matters right now."

"So are you and Robert still together?" Spidey asked.

"Yeah we're still together," Kelsey said quickly. "No offense, guys, but I'd rather not talk about summer. I'd rather talk about the new, exciting year that's ahead of us."

"So you really are glad to be back?" Spidey asked.

"Are you kidding, I'm ecstatic," Kelsey said with a smile. "I missed my friends. You guys are basically my best friends at this school, and then there's ZBZ and it's even better living at the house. Heather's a much more awesome roommate than my one last year."

"I missed you, too," Ashleigh said. "Did I tell you about this lady I got stuck working with?"

"No, what happened?" Kelsey asked.

"When you left for the summer, Clarissa had me work with this new employee, Jane, on a project," Ashleigh said. "She must be about five years older than me, and all she did was bash her husband, almost nonstop. And when she wasn't complaining about her husband, she was complaining about something else."

"Wow, she doesn't sound pleasant," Kelsey said. "What happened to her?"

"She quit about three weeks ago," Ashleigh said. "Said she was moving to Michigan. And no one was sad to see her go."

"I can imagine," Kelsey said. "I am starting to feel a little hungry now; I'm gonna get something to eat. BRB guys."

"Did she say anything more to you about what happened with her family and Robert this summer?" Spidey asked Ashleigh once Kelsey walked away. "Every time I bring it up, she just avoids the subject altogether."

"She hasn't said much to me, either," Ashleigh said. "All I know is it's issues with her parents. I really don't understand why they want her with Robert so badly. I didn't have a good feeling about him when I first saw him at spring break."

"All the signs tell me she really doesn't belong with this guy," Spidey said. "I've been with her a few times when he's called, and it was obvious he was upset and going on about something. I kinda felt like the male version of Taylor Swift in her 'You Belong with Me' video."

"Should I be weirded out that you're a guy who listens to Taylor Swift and watches her videos too?" Ashleigh asked.

"Believe me, I had enough Taylor Swift this summer to get me through the rest of my life," Spidey said with a laugh. "This little boy in my cabin was obsessed with her and listened to her music every night before bed. And he made me watch the videos with him way too many times."

"That's a strange obsession for a little boy," Ashleigh laughed. "Anyway, I can tell you still like Kelsey, and you may be stuck in the wrong Taylor Swift song right now, but someday you're going to find your way into the right one."

"Okay, there's only so much of this Taylor Swift analogy I can follow," Spidey laughed.

"I mean that it's just going to take time," Ashleigh said. "As her best friends, all we can do right now is be there if she does need someone to talk to. But I have a feeling that someday she's going to realize that Robert is just another Picture to Burn and you just might get your Love Story."

-GREEK-

"Casey, this dinner is delicious," Katie said as Casey, Cappie, and their neighbors sat at the kitchen table eating.

"Thanks Katie," Casey smiled. "I had my mom e-mail me her recipe earlier; I'm still kinda learning to cook."

"So where did you two move from?" Tom asked.

"We're both graduates of Cyprus Rhodes University in Ohio," Cappie said. "We've been traveling for our work since I graduated last December, and Casey just got a job that brought us back here."

"I've heard of CRU," Katie said. "A few people I graduated high school with went there. What do you do for work?"

"I was working on a campaign for about six months," Casey said. "And I just got a job as a legislative aide for my aunt who's a U.S. congresswoman."

"So you're interested in a career in politics?" Katie asked.

"Yeah, it took a while to figure out, but that's the direction I finally decided I was most interested in," Casey said.

"And I'm working for my fraternity's national headquarters," Cappie said. "I'm a field representative and I visit different chapters, and since we moved back here, I'm going to be doing more work locally whenever they can give it to me."

"What fraternity were you in?" Tom asked. "Katie and I went to the University of Virginia, and I was in Kappa Tau Gamma, and she was in Zeta Beta Zeta."

"No way, so were we," Cappie said surprised.

"Really, you're a ZBZ alum, Casey?" Katie asked.

"Yeah, I am," Casey said. "And I was their house mother for a semester after I graduated."

"So you're working for Kappa Tau Nationals," Tom said. "My years in KT were some good ones for sure."

"So did you two meet through the Greek system?" Cappie asked.

"Yeah, it was at an all Greek pledge mixer our freshman year," Katie said. "We didn't actually get together until sophomore year, but we've been together ever since and got married the year after we graduated. What about you two?"

"We met at a KT party during Rush freshman year," Casey said. "I won't bore you with all the drama that was our relationship during college, but it's safe to say that's all over with now."

"Oh, there was drama with us, too," Katie said. "Being in the Greek system was great, but it can sometimes put strains on relationships. But we managed to make it work, and here we are now."

"So what do you do for work?" Casey asked. "Or are you a stay-at-home mom?"

"During the week when Tom works, I'm a stay-at-home mom," Katie said. "But I'm also the weekend shift manager at a restaurant not far from here. So I work weekends when Tom's off. It's great that we're both working, but it can be tough not getting to spend as much time together as a family as we would like."

"But we both know that's the way it has to be to get by," Tom spoke up. "Even though it's not ideal, that's the way it has to be."

"Believe me, we're right there with you," Cappie said. "After I graduated, we were living in this motel for almost a month, and then once we both got jobs we didn't get to see each other as much as we would have liked."

"And even though we're living in an apartment together now," Casey began. "We're both still working and are on different schedules."

"You'll soon realize, if you haven't already, how important it is to make the most out of the time you do have together," Katie said.

"Mommy, Daddy, more please," two year-old Lizzy spoke up from her spot next to her mother.

"Well, it sure looks like she's taken a liking to your cooking, too," Katie said to Casey as she got more food for her daughter.

-GREEK-

"Calvin," Evan greeted, opening his apartment door and finding Calvin standing there. "What's up?"

"I wanted to ask you something," Calvin said. "Today, we had an unexpected visitor show up at the house. From Nationals."

"Nationals is checking in?" Evan asked. "I'm sure it's just routine inspection of the chapter."

"Not exactly," Calvin said. "Brian, the guy from Nationals, was sent by Dr. Andrews after he found out his son Brandon, pledged Kappa Tau."

"That kid pledged KT?" Evan asked confused. "So that's why he went missing on your bid night."

"Yeah, apparently so," Calvin said. "And some of the brothers now think that this is the beginning of another KT plot to screw us over."

"And what do you think?" Evan asked.

"I talked to Rusty, and it was just a misunderstanding," Calvin said. "He had no idea that this guy was one of our legacies, but the brothers are still skeptical. Anyway, what I wanted to ask you was if you knew when the last time someone from Nationals came to the house? Brian said it's been at least five years, so you might have been there at the time."

"Yeah, it was at the end of my freshman year, actually," Evan said. "But it was just a routine inspection."

"Did Nationals ever react when they found out you pledged KT, since your dad was an Omega Chi, too?" Calvin asked.

"No, they never did," Evan said. "For one thing, my dad didn't work for Omega Chi, and also I quit KT and pledged Omega Chi before Nationals, and even my dad, really found out. Did you find out why this guy pledged KT, anyway?"

"According to Rusty, it seems like he has issues with his dad," Calvin said with a sigh. "Which seems to be a recurring theme in the CRU Greek system. Oh, and Brian also said he's here to make sure Omega Chi's issues with KT are over."

"It's been this long and Nationals didn't do anything," Evan said. "I don't see what the big deal is now."

"I don't understand it, either," Calvin said. "I want the brothers to believe it's over, but they're still stuck in the mindset that KT is going to sneak up and mess with us again."

"You know today in my law class we started talking about contract law," Evan said. "And one thing Segal said is that for some things, it's a good idea to get an agreement in writing and make sure it's enforced legally."

"You think we should make some sort of contract with the KTs?" Calvin asked.

"If you think that the brothers want peace, then a contract with enforceable punishments for breach could be the way to make sure it'll happen," Evan said.

"And we could have IFC enforce it," Calvin said. "Trip's the IFC president. If the KTs ever did something, not that they ever would; this is purely hypothetical, then he would be all for punishing them."

"See, aren't you glad I'm your legal advisor," Evan said.

"Yeah, I never thought about making a legal case for peace," Calvin said. "But I think it's a great idea, and I'm sure Rusty will too. And I'm sure it'll make Nationals happy."

"So what are you going to do about Brandon?" Evan asked.

"Personally, I don't think I should force him to come to Omega Chi if he doesn't want to," Calvin said. "We've got a lot of great pledges already who want to be here, and I really don't want to fight a case of the daddy issues."

-GREEK-

"Thanks for getting us set up, Tom," Casey said as Tom, Katie, and Lizzy were getting ready to leave.

"No problem at all," Tom said. "It was great getting to know you guys and I'm sure we'll be seeing you around."

"Good luck starting your new job, Casey," Katie said.

"Thanks," Casey said. "I'm really looking forward to it."

"We'll see you guys later," Cappie said and they said goodbye and left.

"That was a fun evening," Casey said to Cappie.

"It was," Cappie said. "Tom and I were talking about our times at KT when he was fixing the TV. It felt like we were two old men talking about our long lost KT glory days." Cappie laughed.

"Katie and I talked some about ZBZ," Casey said. "And Lizzy is the cutest little girl; I finally got her to warm up to me and she's not so shy."

"There's something about them I really liked right off the bat when they first walked in for dinner," Cappie said. "Then after getting to know them I see it now. Case, they're us in five years."

"I don't know; I don't see you becoming an electronics technician or me a restaurant shift manager," Casey said.

"I'm not talking about their jobs," Cappie said. "I'm talking about their family life."

"You, uh, think we'll have a two year-old kid in five years?" Casey asked.

"You said you wanted kids," Cappie said.

"Yeah I do," Casey said. "But you never really said if you did. When I told you that, you were still a kid yourself."

"Of course I want to have kids," Cappie said. "When the time is right for both of us, of course. Like when we get married."

"You said when," Casey said with a smile.

"What?" Cappie asked confused.

"You said when we get married, not if we get married," Casey said. "Remember when we dated the first two times, you always said if we ever get married, we'd do this, that, or whatever."

"Like when I said freshman year that if we ever got married, we could live in the KT house," Cappie said with a laugh.

"Yeah, but you were drunk when you said that," Casey laughed. "So you want to get married, for real?"

"When the time is right, yes," Cappie said. "Who knows, it might be sooner than we think, but we don't have to hurry."

"Yeah, there's no need to rush into anything right now," Casey said. "I like it where we are at the moment."

"So do I," Cappie said with a smile.

-GREEK-

"I think a contract is a great idea," Brian said as Calvin told him about the plan the next day.

"Yeah, and the brothers thought so, too," Calvin said. "Trip said IFC would definitely take action if anything happened, not that it's going to, though."

"So your house is officially no longer rivals with the Kappa Taus," Brian said.

"Oh, we're always going to be in competition with KT," Calvin said. "Just like we are with every other fraternity. Whether it's Greek Week or whatever else, that's the way it is. But we're agreeing to be rivals that don't try to destroy each other and don't create any more trouble in the Greek system."

"Good," Brian said. "By the way I got a call from Dr. Andrews today. He heard from Brandon and is agreeing to let him stay in Kappa Tau and said not to worry about it anymore."

"Really, how'd he get his dad to agree so quickly?" Calvin asked.

"I'm not really sure," Brian said. "It was something about him saying he wanted to create his own life at college, and a phone call his dad got from his aunt. Regardless, Dr. Andrews said I could drop it, so that's what I'm doing. Personally, I didn't think it was a big deal, either. But I just do my job, and that's doing what Nationals and the important people tell me to do."

"I got the brothers to back off about him, too," Calvin said. "Rusty sent him over here to tell us stuff about him to make us not want him as a pledge."

"I'm guessing it was all fake," Brian said.

"Just between you and me, yeah it was," Calvin said. "He said he practiced a very sacred religion and made all these crazy stipulations that we would have to meet if he pledged here. He said the KTs already agreed to meet them when they gave him a bid, and that's why he pledged there. The brothers were kinda weirded out and said KT could have him."

"Well, it looks like you've got everything under control, then," Brian said. "Looks like I'll be out of here tomorrow once the contract gets signed at the IFC meeting."

A/N: Greek has officially taken over a lot of my free time this summer. But I'm enjoying writing this and I'm glad to hear some of you are enjoying reading it! Thanks for the reviews so far! :)

Oh, and do you know what tomorrow (July 9) is? It marks exactly four years since the premiere of Greek. Happy Birthday, Greek!


	4. Working it All Out

Episode #4: Working it All Out

Setting: About two weeks after the end of #3

Synopsis: The houses prepare for Big-Little Weekend, and an invite from Evan for an event the same weekend could help Rebecca begin to plan her future. Meanwhile, an incident puts KT's three newest alums back in the house temporarily, Rusty begins thinking about creating a legacy, and Casey begins her new job.

-GREEK-

"Thanks for letting us crash here, Spitter," Heath said as he, Wade, Beaver, and Katherine entered the KT house with suitcases.

"Yeah, who knew the apartment building would get infested with termites less than a month after we moved in," Wade said.

"It's no problem; it'll be great to have you guys back here for a little while," Rusty said, and then saw a few pledges pass by. "Pledges, grab their bags and take them upstairs."

"Sheila said the fumigation could take about a week," Katherine spoke up.

"Yeah, and being around the children smelling like hazardous chemicals is a bad idea for sure," Beaver said.

"What do you say we go make ourselves at home for a bit then round up some guys and hit Dobler's?" Wade asked.

"Sure," Heath said. Heath, Wade, Beaver, and Katherine went upstairs as Ashleigh came downstairs.

"I just got a call from Sheila," Ashleigh said to Rusty. "Apparently the apartment is being fumigated and everyone has to be out by tonight."

"And yes, you can stay here," Rusty smiled and kissed her. "That's why Beaver, Katherine, Wade, and Heath are here; I was just about to come up and tell you."

"I guess I better go back and pack," Ashleigh said. "I didn't even realize I was upstairs for over three hours; you know your room is a great place to study. It's more soundproof than my apartment."

"It's the best room in the house," Rusty said. "But its benefits extend way beyond studying, if you know what I mean."

"Oh I'm well aware of its many advantages," Ashleigh smiled at him. "Being president has its perks, eh."

"Dobler's time!" some of the brothers shouted, entering the room.

"That's my cue to go pack," Ashleigh said. "Don't forget we're Skyping with Casey and Cappie later."

"Don't worry, I won't," Rusty said. "But I'll come help you pack now if you want."

"I'll be fine; you go to Dobler's," Ashleigh said. "I'll take Katherine with me; we haven't hung out in a while."

-GREEK-

"You look like you need a drink," Rebecca said to Evan as she met him walking out of his law class.

"I always need a drink after a three hour Segal class," Evan said with a sigh. "Dobler's?"

"Sure," Rebecca said and they began walking.

"So, are you up for coming to a dinner on Saturday?" Evan asked her.

"What kind of dinner?" Rebecca asked.

"CRU Law is hosting its Student-Alumni Weekend," Evan said. "It's basically an event they host every two years where alumni come back to talk to students about their experiences, and where students can make connections to hopefully get jobs after graduation. So I'll be spending the weekend networking with legal professionals, but Saturday night there's a social and dinner, and I'd like you to be my date. If you're not too busy with it being Big-Little Weekend also, that is."

"I'll come," Rebecca said with a smile. "Besides, I don't have a little sister in the new pledge class, so I can take some time out."

"No more protégés for you?" Evan joked.

"No, between Heather who's determined to find herself a boyfriend ASAP and Kelsey who's love life I can't even begin to comprehend, that's enough," Rebecca said. "Two is all I can handle. Besides, you came to Pledge Presents last week, which was important to me. I'm not going to blow off something that's important to you."

"Thanks Rebecca," Evan smiled. "Plus, you're on the post-graduation plan search this year; you could make some connections, too. Not all the alumni are lawyers; some of them will have other backgrounds."

"Yeah, after my summer didn't go so well, I need a better plan," Rebecca said. "I'm thinking grad school for psychology, but I don't even know for sure what area I want to go into. I mean, there's psychology for practically everything and everybody; from children to old people to counseling to personality, and the list goes on."

"Have you thought about going to career counseling?" Evan asked. "If you're not sure, it wouldn't hurt."

"I don't really want to, but I probably should," Rebecca said. "I've been denying for three years how unsure I am about what I want to do with my life, but I guess I can't let it go any more seeing as it's senior year."

"Also, if there's anyone I know who's dealt with career uncertainty," Evan began. "It's your big sister. Casey's been there you know; I'm sure she's got plenty of advice."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Rebecca said. "So what exactly happens at a law school social?"

"Well for one thing there'll be the lawyer alums who sit around debating legal issues and try to get students on their side," Evan said. "But other than that it shouldn't be anything out of the ordinary; just a normal networking event. I've never been seeing as they didn't have this last year, but a few people in the class had. They said it's a good idea to bring resumes; if someone likes you, they'll ask for one to remember you by and get your contact information."

"Honestly, I don't even have a real resume written," Rebecca said. "I've never needed one; the only jobs I've had are ZBZ president and my job this summer, and the first one I was elected for and the second one I got through a professor."

"I never had one until I needed one to apply for law school," Evan said. "I was actually planning on going to career services tomorrow to get mine revised before this weekend; you should come with me and talk to someone."

"Sure, why not I suppose," Rebecca said.

-GREEK-

"Hey Case," Ashleigh greeted Casey as she and Rusty answered her call on Skype.

"Hey guys," Casey said with a smile. "Cappie's in the shower but he'll be right out; he just got back about a half hour ago."

"Where was it again he went this time?" Rusty asked.

"A university in West Virginia," Casey said. "They're keeping their word in giving him jobs fairly close to home."

"Yeah they are," Cappie said, pulling up a chair next to Casey. "What are you guys up to?"

"Beaver, Wade, and Heath are staying back at the KT house for a while," Rusty said. "So are Ash and Katherine."

"The building's being fumigated," Ashleigh said.

"Is it crickets?" Cappie asked. "We almost had to have the KT house fumigated when that happened."

"Termites," Ashleigh said.

"Ew, that's worse," Cappie said.

"How's the new job going, Case?" Rusty asked.

"It's going really well," Casey said. "A lot better than my internship did. Being a former sorority girl herself, Aunt Carol knows how capable they can be, and I'm already doing more than just bringing people coffee. I'm already working on real legislative issues."

"That's great; anything interesting?" Ashleigh asked.

"You know the bill they're hoping to pass that would make it a crime if you don't report to the police if your child goes missing?" Casey asked. Rusty and Ashleigh nodded. "I've been doing some work on the legislation for that and some other things too."

"And you like it?" Rusty asked.

"I love it," Casey said excitedly. "I'm working in the U.S. Capitol building, which is incredible. A week of being there has shown me that this is the career I want to have and I want to work my way up. The only thing I'm trying to figure out now is the easiest way to get to work."

"It can't be as bad as New York, but I'm sure the traffic is insane," Ashleigh said.

"It is," Casey said. "I drove to work all of last week and I hated it. Drivers are just so rude and in too much of a hurry. Today I decided on taking a taxi but doing that every day would be way too expensive. So I'm taking the Metro tomorrow; I'll have to drive to get to the nearest station but at least it's not driving through the city."

"So I never got to ask you how Rush went," Cappie said to Rusty. "How are the new pledges?"

"They're great; we've got thirty of them," Rusty said. "Anthony Hopkins had them sleep in the backyard one night last week and surprisingly no one fell asleep. And this weekend is Big-Little Weekend."

"So any more little brothers in your future?" Cappie asked.

"I don't think so," Rusty said. "I'm doing well with the one I already have and I've got eight and a half months to get him ready to take over."

"Do you think that's enough time?" Cappie asked.

"Well I hope so, because that's all the time I have," Rusty said.

"I'm glad you're trying to create your own legacy," Cappie said. "And I really hope it works out for you." Then someone knocked on Casey and Cappie's door.

"That's probably Katie," Casey said.

"I'll get it; be right back," Cappie said and went to answer it.

"We're babysitting Katie and Tom's daughter Elizabeth tonight because they're going out for Tom's sister's birthday," Casey said.

"Oh, your neighbors?" Ashleigh asked.

"Yeah," Casey said. "Did I tell you Katie's a ZBZ alum and Tom's a KT alum?"

"Really?" Rusty asked. "So they're basically an older version of you guys?"

"I guess so," Casey said. "Cappie said that, too." Cappie came back in front of the computer, followed by Elizabeth.

"That's Rusty and Ashleigh," Cappie pointed to the computer screen. "Say hi." Two year-old Elizabeth just stood there and stared at the computer screen and said nothing.

"Aw, she's adorable," Ashleigh said with a smile.

"She's shy around new people at first," Casey said.

"That and she's probably confused as to why there are people talking from a computer screen," Rusty said.

"Play!" Elizabeth finally shouted.

"We better go entertain her," Casey said. "We'll talk to you again soon."

"Bye guys," Rusty said. "Good luck with the babysitting."

-GREEK-

"Hey, I need your help with something," Beaver said to Ashleigh and Rusty as they entered the kitchen, where he was sitting at the table with Katherine.

"What's up?" Rusty asked.

"I need you to be parents," Beaver said. Rusty and Ashleigh gave him very confused looks.

"What are you talking about?" Ashleigh asked.

"I know some people are having kids at my age," Rusty said. "But I'm not one of those people."

"I don't mean go make a baby," Beaver laughed. "I mean pretend to be parents so I can practice for parent-teacher conferences that are in two days."

"I've been giving him pointers on talking to parents for the past two hours," Katherine said.

"Oh, well we can do that," Rusty said.

"So who's our pretend kid?" Ashleigh asked, as she and Rusty sat down at the table.

"I'd say Johnny would be a good one to practice with," Katherine said.

"Okay, so there's this little boy Johnny," Beaver began, looking at Rusty and Ashleigh. "He's the most antisocial kid in the class. The other kids have tried to ask him to play, but he never does. His mom said in the e-mail she sent me that she and his father are really concerned since he's never been this antisocial at home, or at his grandma's where he goes for daycare."

"So for the next however many minutes this takes," Katherine said. "You're now Mr. and Mrs. DePuy."

"Okay," Rusty said. "Ready to be fake parents, Ash?"

"Let's do this," Ashleigh said.

"Good afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. DePuy," Beaver said. "Come in."

"Here's the part where you should make casual conversation for a moment," Katherine spoke up.

"So it says on here that you both work in Columbus," Beaver said, pretending to look at Johnny's file. "That's a long drive to make every day."

"Yeah, we just drove back from there to be here," Ashleigh said. "And you wouldn't believe the traffic; we thought we were going to be late."

"At this time of day?" Beaver asked. "It's not even rush hour."

"There was an accident on Route 33," Rusty said. "If you're going that way, take a different road today."

"I'll keep that in mind," Beaver said. "About Johnny; he won't talk to any of the other kids. He's always by himself and no matter how much I try, he just won't play with anyone."

"We're really concerned," Ashleigh said. "He's never been like this at home or at my mother's. He was always friends with the kids at daycare."

"But now every time we ask him about his friends at school," Rusty said. "He just says he doesn't have any and walks off to his room."

"Mrs. DePuy, you said Johnny always went to daycare at your mother's?" Beaver asked.

"Please, call me, uh, whatever Mrs. DePuy's name is," Ashleigh said.

"Jolene," Beaver said.

"Okay," Ashleigh said. "Yeah, my mother runs a daycare center and he always went there. He loved it, and he and his grandma are really close. He still goes there for a few hours after school until I get back from work."

"It sounds like he's not used to being away from family," Beaver said. "Have you thought about setting up a play date for him and you being there? We're actually thinking about having a parents' day soon for all of the kindergarten classes, where you'll be able to meet some of the other parents."

"Is that where we'd come in and talk about our jobs?" Rusty asked.

"That might be a part of it," Beaver said. "But then we'd have fun things for the kids and parents to do."

"I think parents' day would be a great idea," Ashleigh said.

"You really think so?" Beaver asked, coming out of teacher mode. "Because I just thought of it off the top of my head."

"Yeah, you're thinking like a real teacher, Beav," Rusty said. "You should pitch the idea to the other kindergarten teachers and the administration. I'm sure the parents would like to see what their kids are doing at school."

"I think I will," Beaver said. "Great fake parenting, guys. I think I just might be ready for this now."

"Ready for what?" Wade asked, entering the kitchen.

"To talk to little Johnny's parents," Beaver said. "Along with about fifteen other sets of parents."

"He had you guys be fake parents, too?" Wade asked Rusty and Ashleigh. "I was Mary Anne's slacker dad a little while ago."

"I think you're definitely ready for this now," Katherine smiled at Beaver. "And if you can impress my parents like you did over the summer, then you can handle the parents of a class of five and six year-olds."

-GREEK-

"Dale!" Laura called out to him as she saw him walking out of the engineering building after a class.

"Hey there," Dale replied, smiling at Laura. Then he noticed there was another person with her. "And you're with my sister."

"I do have a name, ya know," Rachel scoffed. "Anyway, I'm off to class."

"In one of the science buildings?" Dale asked. "You?"

"Lab science requirement, duh," Rachel said. "Intro to biology, it's the easiest lab science offered here."

"Mainly because the professor who teaches it doesn't make his students work hard at all," Dale said.

"Don't care," Rachel said. "All that matters is it gets the requirement out of the way and it's a GPA booster. See y'all later! And Laura, think about what I told you." Rachel gave a wave over her shoulder and walked off toward her class.

"Ever notice how she has a much more obvious Southern accent than you?" Laura asked as her and Dale began walking in the other direction.

"Yeah, she always has," Dale said. "What did she mean by think about what she told you?"

"Don't tell her, but I'm going to be her big sister at ZBZ," Laura said. "She asked me if I would, and of course the sisters can't tell the pledges for sure until Big-Little Weekend, but I'm going to do it."

"Really?" Dale asked. "I didn't think you ever had a little sister at ZBZ."

"I haven't," Laura said. "I never really wanted one. But hey, it's my last year and she really wants me as her big sister, so I figured why not."

"How come you two get on so well?" Dale asked. "Why do you like her so much?"

"I could ask you the opposite of that question," Laura said. "Why do you two not get along?"

"Sibling rivalry I guess," Dale said. "How different we've always been. I was always the kid who wanted to go to church, and she was always the one sneaking out of church and getting grounded for it."

"So you don't like each other because she didn't like to go to church?" Laura asked.

"Not just that," Dale said. "That's just one of many things we're different on. So back to my question now."

"Okay, I'll give you the truth," Laura said. "I like her because she likes me. She acts like she actually wants to be my friend. No one's ever asked me to be their big sister, and when she did, it meant a lot."

"So you like the attention she gives you?" Dale asked. "I thought she was trying to be friends with you to spite me."

"When we first started talking last year, I think she was," Laura said. "But after we've gotten to know each other, she told me that's not why she wants to be my friend. Are you mad that we're friends?"

"No, if you want to be friends with my sister and be her big sis, I won't judge you," Dale said. "I just want you to know that she's screwed over some of her friends in the past, and I don't want to see the same thing happen to you."

"What, like the time she stole her best friend's boyfriend in eighth grade?" Laura asked. "She told me about that and she's not proud of it. I did some things in junior high I'm not proud of. Besides, it's not like she's gonna steal my boyfriend."

"Yeah, you're right about that," Dale said with a laugh. "And maybe you're right; I really haven't seen much of her in the last three years except for holidays, so maybe she has changed a little. Go ahead and give her the benefit of the doubt if you want, but I'd still be careful."

"Well, now you two are both living on the same campus," Laura said. "Which means this could be the chance for you to spend some time with her and see for yourself who she is now."

-GREEK-

"So until their building is free of termites, they'll be staying here," Rusty announced to the KT brothers and pledges. "Next, this weekend is Big-Little weekend, where pledges, you'll find out who your big brother is." One of the pledges raised his hand.

"You don't have to raise your hand; it's not a kindergarten class," Rusty said. "What is it, Pledge Barney?"

"Do we get to pick who our big brother is?" the pledge asked.

"You'll each write three names on a slip of paper," Rusty said. "Then we'll match you up as best we can. That's it for today. Pledges, Anthony Hopkins will give each of you a piece of paper; give it back to him when you're done. Meeting adjourned."

"Is it just me or does it seem like there's more of them than us?" Spidey asked Rusty. "Are we gonna be able to match everybody up?"

"We've got thirty pledges and thirty three of us," Rusty said. "So we should just be able to do it. Because we lost some brothers the last few years and you were the only pledge we could have last year, the pledge to brother ratio is way up this year. But it's what's going to help the house get back to normal membership."

"So next year we'll have about double the brothers of this year," Spidey said.

"Well minus those of us that are graduating," Rusty began. "I'd say you should have about fifty to fifty five."

"So is everyone from your pledge class actually graduating?" Spidey asked.

"Most of us are," Rusty said. "There's only a few planning on coming back next year. But let's not worry about next year right now. I wanted to talk to you about something for this year. Like you taking a bigger role in the house."

"Really, like what?" Spidey asked excitedly.

"How would you feel about doing IFC?" Rusty asked. "No one else has said they wanted to do it, and you may be a new active, but I think you'd be great for it."

"Yeah, I'll do it," Spidey said. "Talk about really making the jump from pledge to active!"

"You deserve it," Rusty said. "By the way, have you thought about who you might want as a little brother? You can get one, you know."

"Get one?" Spidey asked with a laugh. "Sounds like you're telling me to go pick up a stray dog."

"Or a stray pledge," Rusty said. "I was what you might call a stray pledge at first, and Cappie picked me up."

"And you did the same for me," Spidey said. "I don't know; I guess I haven't really thought about it. I mean, there's a few of the pledges I've talked to a lot, but it's up to them to pick now and not me. Hey when's the first meeting of IFC?"

"The first one you'll go to is next week; and here, take this," Rusty said, and handed him a clipboard. "Casey always said having one of these makes you look more serious."

-GREEK-

"Thanks for coming with me and helping me get the supplies for Big-Little Weekend, Rick," Calvin said to the pledge that was walking with him. Both of them were armed with bags.

"Yeah, well I'd rather be shopping than doing what the other pledges are doing right now," Rick said.

"You'd rather be shopping than cleaning the house while watching the game?" Calvin asked.

"I'm not big on football," Rick said. "I'm not much of a sports guy, except for baseball. That's about the only sport I watch."

"Yeah, you played, right?" Calvin asked.

"In little league," Rick said. "Then after sixth grade, my life totally changed and I never got back into playing. Do you remember what I was saying to you during Rush?"

"I'm pretty sure I know what you were trying to tell me," Calvin said. "If you want to tell me for real, I promise I won't tell anyone at the house."

"Well I'm gay," Risk said. "Like you."

"I was right," Calvin said happily. "Well I'm happy for you, and I'm here for you."

"I have to say that's the best reaction I've gotten all my life, aside from my family," Rick said.

"So I'm guessing that had something to do with why your life changed after sixth grade," Calvin said.

"Yeah, the summer after sixth grade I finally got up the courage to tell my best friend since kindergarten that I was gay," Rick said. "I told her not to tell anyone and she said she wouldn't. But when we got back to school in the fall, she told a few of her girlfriends, and before the first day of school was over, the entire school knew."

"And they didn't take it well?" Calvin asked.

"Not at all," Rick said. "I went to a private school and the majority of people in that school and in my small town are anti-gay. I told my parents sometime during my sixth grade year, and they accepted it. They said that I was their son and they would accept me the way I am. The support from them was what helped me tell my so-called best friend in the first place. Let's just say she and I went our separate ways after all this happened."

"Do you think she might have liked you and she was upset?" Calvin asked. "Do you think that could have been why she outed you?"

"I don't know, and I didn't really care why," Rick said. "She betrayed me and that was that. I haven't spoken to her since. After seventh grade I never even saw her again, and then my mom told me later that she and her family moved away."

"My friend was the person who accidentally outed me to the entire Omega Chi house freshman year," Calvin said. "But all's long been forgiven now."

"It wasn't an accident when Gina outed me, though," Rick said. "She purposely did it."

"Ouch," Calvin said. "I'm sorry to hear about that. What happened after that?"

"Everyone at school basically shunned me," Rick said. "And some of the adults in the town even shunned my family when they found out. My best friends from there on out were my cousins, and my friends from the summer camp I went to every year. I eventually told them and they were cool about it. The only reason I stayed in that private school was because my parents said it would give me a good education, and it did. I graduated third in my class."

"Well let me tell you, if and when you choose to come out at CRU," Calvin began. "It won't be like it was at your school. People are a lot more open-minded here. Guys at Omega Chi weren't always tolerant, but we've made some changes over the past few years and we don't tolerate intolerance in our brothers."

"I got that feeling, and that's what I love about it here," Rick said. "You being president of Omega Chi and the feeling I got from the house during Rush just told me that this is where I belong. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about coming out, but when I'm ready at least I know I can count on you for support."

"Absolutely," Calvin said.

"And I know you can't tell me until this weekend," Rick began as they walked back into the Omega Chi house. "But it would be really awesome if you were my big brother." Rick walked over to some of his pledge brothers in the living room, and Dale walked up to Calvin.

"Do you realize how much our pledge educator seriously sucks?" Dale asked. "He's off gallivanting with his new girlfriend yet again, and these pledges were doing too much watching the game and not enough working."

"Yeah, I need to have a talk with Kyle," Calvin said. "He was supposed to run the pledge meeting yesterday and wasn't here, so I had to do it. I just haven't seen him since yesterday to be able to talk to him."

"You know if I was pledge educator, I could whip these guys into shape," Dale said. "I was junior rodeo champ growing up."

"Do you want to be substitute pledge educator?" Calvin asked.

"What do you mean by 'substitute'?" Dale asked. "I'd take the job for real."

"We have to have a vote to elect someone new at the next meeting," Calvin said. "But hey, give it a shot through this weekend. And what does being junior rodeo champ have to do with the pledges, by the way?"

"Because if they don't do what I say," Dale began. "I can hogtie each one of them in under eight seconds flat."

"Just no injuries or deaths, okay," Calvin said half joking. "Oh and guess what? I think I just might have my first little brother."

"Cool, me too actually," Dale said. "Remember Chris? I took him to church on Sunday and introduced him to Pastor Dan. I'm helping him see that he can be in a fraternity and still have a relationship with God."

"That's great," Calvin said. "I'm meeting Heath over at KT; you got a handle on the pledges then?"

"Yep, I've got 'em," Dale said.

-GREEK-

"I must be in the wrong house because I've never seen anyone as hot as you here, except for me," Pledge Barf said to Rebecca when she entered the KT house. Rebecca gave him a disgusted look.

"One, I have a boyfriend," Rebecca began. "Two, I'm just here looking for my friend. And three, you're never going to get a girlfriend with lines like that." Rebecca left the pledge and began walking upstairs.

"You were in way over your head, man," Pledge Alfred Hitchcock came over once Rebecca left. "That's the president of ZBZ and former senator's daughter, Rebecca Logan."

"Hey Ash," Rebecca greeted Ashleigh as she met her on the stairs.

"Hey, Bex," Ashleigh greeted. "I think they're staring at you." Ashleigh pointed to a group of pledges that were standing down the stairs, seemingly staring at Rebecca.

"Seriously, what is their problem?" Rebecca asked. "One of them used a really bad pick-up line on me when I walked in."

"They're just freshman boys trying to make eyes with hot senior girls," Ashleigh said. "Although the staring is creepy. Let me grab my purse and let's go out for a while."

"I don't know how you can stand living in this place," Rebecca said as she and Ashleigh walked upstairs to Rusty's room. "I'd rather take my chances with the termites."

"It's not like I haven't slept over here enough times," Ashleigh said.

"Sleeping here is one thing," Rebecca said. "But having to share a bathroom with a bunch of fraternity guys. Gross." Rebecca gagged. "You know you can come and shower at the ZBZ house."

"It's not as bad as I thought," Ashleigh said. "I just wear shower shoes and since there are so many pledges, the bathroom gets cleaned every day. So what do you want to do?"

"Let's go shopping," Rebecca said. "I was hoping you'd help me find something to wear for this dinner I'm going to on Saturday with Evan."

"What kind of dinner?" Ashleigh asked.

"It's Student-Alumni Weekend for CRU Law," Rebecca said. "They're hosting a social and dinner on Saturday and it's not just Evan who needs to network. I need to start putting together my own life plan."

"Getting serious about post-graduation, are you?" Ashleigh asked.

"I guess I have to," Rebecca said. "I'm not going to get any kind of good job or get into grad school as just the former senator's daughter who's never had to work a day in her life."

"You worked this summer; even though it might not have been the best experience, it was still a job," Ashleigh said. "And you're ZBZ president; that counts for something on a resume."

"I was at career services today and those were the only two things I had to put on my resume that didn't involve my father," Rebecca said. "My father basically helped me get into CRU when I applied, but now with everything that's happened it's not like I can depend on him, nor do I even want to."

"Are you more worried about your resume, or are you just worried about being judged because of your dad's scandal?" Ashleigh asked.

"Funny, that's what the woman at career services asked me today," Rebecca said.

"And what did you say?" Ashleigh asked.

"We were done writing my resume, so I said I had to get to class and left," Rebecca said. "I really don't know the answer to that. I mean, people have judged me based on my dad all my life, and now there's even more reason for people who don't know me to judge me, which sucks for me. And then I don't have much to prove that I'm more than just Ken Logan's daughter."

"It's a fact that people are judgmental," Ashleigh said. "It's not right, but that's the world we live in. Not everyone is like that, though. Look at Casey when she had her internship in D.C.; she was judged as being dumb just because she was a sorority girl. But of course that wasn't true and now she's found a job with people who know she's capable. It's all about finding the right fit for you for a job, grad school, or whatever, and finding people who will accept you, and you will."

"I talked to Casey the other night," Rebecca said. "She was babysitting some kid so we didn't talk long. What she told me though was that if I decide to be done being identified by my dad, then I will be."

"She's right," Ashleigh said. "You can prove yourself, just like you've been doing at ZBZ. You've grown up and changed, and now's the time to show that. A good personal statement can really help you get into grad school, you know. And you've got a good GPA, leadership, and philanthropy."

"I am done," Rebecca said with assertion. "This is my life, not my father's, and I'm going to make something for myself."

"That's the Rebecca I know," Ashleigh smiled. "Now come on, let's go find you a dress for this dinner."

-GREEK-

"Knock knock," Calvin said as he entered Heath's temporary room in the KT house, where Heath was on the bed studying.

"Hey, I'm glad you're here," Heath said. "I can really use a break right now."

"So could I," Calvin said. "I've been doing house stuff all afternoon."

"How's the Big-Little prep going?" Heath asked.

"Great," Calvin said. "And I'm going to have a little brother."

"That's cool," Heath said. "What's the story behind this guy?"

"His name's Rick and there's a story behind him," Calvin said. "I really want to tell you, but I think I should introduce you first. I will soon."

"Awesome," Heath said. "I had lunch with my sister today and she was all excited because she's going to have a little sister. I just wish she wasn't so gung ho on finding a boyfriend; it kinda freaks me out."

"Don't say 'gung ho'," Calvin said with a chuckle. "And all you can do for your sister is look out for her; you can't stop her from being a normal college girl."

"I know," Heath said. "It's still weird though; I'm just like my dad in that we both still see her as the little pig-tailed five year-old girl." Heath's computer beeped, signaling a new e-mail. "Sheila just sent a message; she said the apartment should be back open this coming Tuesday."

"Hey, how come you didn't just stay with me when you had to leave the apartment?" Calvin asked.

"I don't know; I just didn't think to ask you I guess," Heath said. "Beaver showed up and said we could all stay here at the KT house, so I just went along with them."

"You know you don't have to ask to stay with me," Calvin said. "But come to think of it, you've never stayed over at my room. I always stayed here last year or now at your apartment."

"I guess I still would feel a little weird being at the Omega Chi house," Heath confessed. "It was always an unspoken rule that KTs don't set foot in the Omega Chi house, and I guess I'm still stuck on that."

"You know that's all over, for good," Calvin said. "I told you about it. Sure, there still aren't many KTs that come to Omega Chi; well, Rusty's pretty much been the only one; but if they do, it's not like they're in danger of being attacked anymore. If you want to stay here with the guys this week, then go ahead. But I just want you to know that you don't have to be afraid of coming to Omega Chi. You can at least drop by and not have to text me to meet you somewhere on campus every time you want to meet up."

"No, you're right," Heath said. "You're my boyfriend and I shouldn't be afraid of your house; it's obvious you're not afraid of having me there. I'll stay over there tonight, I promise."

"I'd really like that," Calvin smiled and kissed him.

-GREEK-

"How's it going?" Evan asked, approaching Rebecca, who was talking with a woman near the bar before the dinner started.

"This is my boyfriend, Evan," Rebecca said to the woman. "Evan, this is Dr. Taylor; she's a CRU Law alum and now a legal psychologist who works in Columbus."

"Props to you for asking Rebecca to come here," Dr. Taylor said. "I think she's got some real potential for a career in legal psychology."

"So we'll be in touch," Rebecca said to Dr. Taylor.

"Absolutely," Dr. Taylor said. "I'll set up a meeting with you at my office in Columbus, I'd say in about two to three weeks."

"Thank you, that would be great," Rebecca said.

"It was nice talking to you," Dr. Taylor said. "And nice meeting you, Evan."

"You too," Evan said, and Dr. Taylor walked over to what looked to be a group of alums.

"I think I just successfully networked," Rebecca said to Evan as they began walking toward their table to sit down for dinner.

"It looked like you did," Evan said. "So legal psychology, is that your thing now?"

"It seemed interesting when Dr. Taylor talked about it," Rebecca said. "We're going to talk more when I meet with her in Columbus. I'm glad you invited me here; thanks."

"Hey, you're welcome," Evan smiled, putting an arm around her. "I'm glad you're on your way to figuring things out."

"What about you; any connections?" Rebecca asked.

"Yeah, I got business cards from some alums who work in D.C.," Evan said. "And I was also talking with my advisor about the possibility of graduating early."

"Really, you could do that?" Rebecca asked. "How early?"

"Next December," Evan said. "If I take an extra class next semester and again next fall, and take classes over the summer, then I can graduate a semester early. I've been feeling lately that I'm really ready to leave Cyprus. I'm not just going to up and leave until I'm done with school, but I'd really like to finish early."

"I think you should do it," Rebecca said. "When you're done with law school, nothing's going to be holding you back here anymore."

"So I'm guessing that means you want to leave, too," Evan said.

"After I graduate, yeah I want to leave," Rebecca said. "I don't know where to, or exactly when, but I don't plan on making a living in a college town."

"If I do this, then I'll have to spend more time on studying," Evan said. "But I promise you that this won't turn into a repeat of last year with you and I."

"Look, I understand now," Rebecca assured. "I mean it when I say you should do it. You'll work your butt off for a year, and you'll save a semester's worth of tuition and get out of here six months early. You and I are going to be fine, and I truly believe that this time."

A/N: Hope you like this chapter and the mix of fun and serious moments! :) I promise more Cappie and Casey interaction soon; I think you'll like where I'll be going with them in future chapters.


	5. Can't We All Just Get Along

Episode #5: Can't We All Just Get Along

Setting: About 2 ½ weeks after #4

Synopsis: Rusty and Ashleigh try to keep the peace when Kelsey's boyfriend, Robert, comes to visit. Meanwhile, CRU Greeks prepare for the Fall Formal, Casey and Cappie attend a charity formal started by Casey's work, and Rebecca continues her quest for a post-graduation plan.

-GREEK-

"This Saturday is the night you've all been waiting for," Rebecca announced to her sisters and pledges at a meeting. "It's the annual Fall Formal, and anyone who's single is strongly encouraged to participate in the Omega Chi-ZBZ matchup. Or if you've secretly wanted to break up with your boyfriend, here's your chance to be matched with a new Omega Chi guy."

"You're going to set us up with Omega Chis for the formal?" Amanda, one of the pledges, asked excitedly.

"That's the plan," Rebecca said. "Abby, any pledge-related announcements?"

"Yes, pledges, be here tomorrow afternoon for the pledge shopping trip for the formal," Abby stood up and said. "How you look at the first All-Greek formal will show who you are as a pledge class, so we've got to help you look good. And finding the right dress is the first step."

"Okay, then I guess that's it for today," Rebecca said. "Meeting adjourned."

"This formal should be interesting," Kelsey said, catching up with Rebecca after the meeting. "I just found out today that my boyfriend is coming to town this weekend so he'll be here for it."

"Oh, well that'll be awkward," Rebecca said.

"Awkward how?" Kelsey asked confused.

"It'll be your boyfriend and the guy who likes you in the same room," Rebecca said.

"What are you talking about?" Kelsey asked. "We're just friends. Can't a girl and a guy be just friends without getting grief?"

"It's not grief, it's the truth," Rebecca said. "And I think you know it's the truth."

"I know," Kelsey sighed. "But I can't do anything about it, not right now."

"I'm not saying you have to," Rebecca said. "All I'm saying is to make sure one of them doesn't throw a punch; we don't need a repeat of Casey/Cappie/Evan."

"Nobody's going to fight," Kelsey laughed. "Besides, I didn't think KTs went to formals. Something about not wanting to go to a 'testicle'."

"Sometimes KTs do go to formals if they think they have reasons to," Rebecca said.

-GREEK-

"What does this dress say to you?" Casey asked Cappie as she stepped out of a changing room with a red dress on.

"It says, why didn't you take Katie shopping with you instead of me," Cappie said, half jokingly. "I think a female opinion would be a lot more helpful than mine, cause I'm just going to say you look beautiful in whatever you have on, or don't have on."

"And I value that opinion you have of me," Casey smiled at him. "But is it professional enough for a charity fundraiser formal sponsored by Congress people, or too much Greek formal-like?"

"I think it's perfect for the charity formal," Cappie said. "You'll be the most beautiful girl there."

"Aw, and I'm glad you're coming with me," Casey said. "I know formals aren't really your thing and this is going to be different than a Greek formal."

"Well I wasn't going to let you go with just anyone," Cappie joked. "And I can pull it off at a professional event."

"I know you can," Casey said, and went back into the changing room to get out of her dress. "First things first, though, we need to find you a suit."

"I hate shopping for suits," Cappie said. "Did I ever tell you I wore jeans to my high school prom?"

"I can actually imagine you doing that," Casey chuckled.

"I wasn't the only one who did, though," Cappie said.

"What, all of your buddies did, too?" Casey asked.

"Not exactly," Cappie said. "My date absolutely hated dressing up, so I talked her into going informal with me."

"I see," Casey said. She finished changing and came back outside to face Cappie. "You know, I think we're at a point in our relationship where we can comfortably talk about past relationships. So who did you go to your prom with?"

"It was this girl I started hanging out with about a month before the prom," Cappie said. "We were never in a relationship, but I didn't have a date and neither did she, so we went together. What about your prom, wait let me guess, Derek?"

"Derek and I actually broke up on prom night," Casey said.

"He broke up with you on your prom night?" Cappie asked. "What a dick. But I guess I shouldn't be the one talking, considering what I did to you last year…" Cappie trailed off.

"And you know all's been forgiven about that," Casey said. "As for me and Derek, we sort of broke up with each other. I was going to CRU and he was going away to another school, and neither of us wanted a long distance relationship. Sure, breaking up on prom night sucked at the time, but then I came to realize that he just wasn't the right guy for me."

"Well I have to say I'm glad you ended things with Derek and came to college single," Cappie said. "If you were still with him when you came to CRU, things might have turned out differently for you and me."

"I've actually thought about that before," Casey said. "About how different it would have been if Derek and I decided to stay together when we went off to college. I probably would have ended up like Ashleigh with Travis, and that's not what I wanted for myself. Derek and I were a short story, and that's all it was ever meant to be. Looking back on the night of our breakup, I wouldn't have done anything differently."

"They say everything happens for a reason," Cappie said. "The whole blissfully marrying your high school sweetheart thing is overrated, anyway; it doesn't always work out that way."

"When I was sixteen I actually began thinking I would marry Derek someday," Casey said. "I even planned out a hypothetical wedding, from what food we'd have to where we'd get married to who'd be in the wedding. That was one of many young and stupid moments I've had."

"Oh, you know I've had plenty of those, too," Cappie laughed. "So what was this dream wedding of yours like?"

"Well I said we'd get married at my family's church," Casey said. "But that was more because I knew it would make my parents happy. And we would get the food from Derek's cousin's catering business. And the girls I picked for bridesmaids I've barely spoken to since I graduated high school. So really there's nothing about this wedding I planned as a sixteen year-old that I can use to my benefit anymore."

"What about now?" Cappie asked. "Any new dream wedding ideas?"

"I have some thoughts," Casey smiled. "That don't involve trying to please my parents, or hiring Hot Python."

"Do I want to know what Hot Python is?" Cappie asked with a laugh.

"It was a metal band some of Derek's friends had," Casey said.

"You thought about hiring a metal band for a wedding?" Cappie asked.

"Like I said, I was young and stupid," Casey laughed. "And I knew how much Derek liked them, and they were some of his best friends."

"I still can't imagine you enjoying that," Cappie chuckled. "I know you don't like metal and I'd never put you through that torture."

"I'm glad," Casey said. "And you're right; I don't think I would have liked them much at all. Hey, I'm going to pay for this dress, and then I'm helping you find a suit."

"You know you don't have to do that," Cappie said. "I can go one day this week when you're at work."

"Yeah, I don't see that happening," Casey said. "Besides, you suffered through dress shopping with me; it's the least I can do."

-GREEK-

"Hey, are you and Rusty going to the formal?" Kelsey asked Ashleigh as they were heading into work.

"Yeah, we're going," Ashleigh said. "Not many of the KTs are going, but he has to go anyway as KT president. So I hear you've got a visitor coming for the formal."

"Yeah, Robert's coming to spend the weekend," Kelsey said. "Actually, I wanted to ask you a favor."

"What's up?" Ashleigh asked.

"Since I don't have a car, I need a ride to the airport to pick him up on Friday," Kelsey said.

"I thought he went to Penn State," Ashleigh said. "That can't be that far away; why wouldn't he just drive?"

"Well it's about five hours away," Kelsey said. "And his dad has a bunch of frequent flyer miles. So would you mind driving?"

"Sure, I'll take you," Ashleigh said.

"Awesome, thanks so much," Kelsey said. "He said he wants to meet my friends."

"Really?" Ashleigh asked. "He didn't seem to want to talk to us much back at spring break."

"I know, and he feels bad," Kelsey said. "He wants me to get a few friends together for dinner when he gets to town on Friday. He's already got a restaurant picked out and everything."

"He's never even been here before, though," Ashleigh said.

"Oh, he found it online," Kelsey said. "And you and Rusty are invited, of course."

"Sounds great then," Ashleigh said.

"I hope it will be," Kelsey said. "I admit I'm a little nervous about him coming. He's never seen my life here, and I just hope he accepts it."

"Do you have reason to think he wouldn't?" Ashleigh asked.

"He still doesn't fully understand why I decided to stay at CRU," Kelsey said. "I have to show him why I love it here so much, and that starts with my friends."

"So you're trying to impress a boyfriend you already have?" Ashleigh asked. "Should you really have to try so hard if you've already got the guy?"

"Yeah I do," Kelsey said. "I think you'll understand after you've been around him a while. When people first meet him sometimes they think he's a rich snob, but there's more to him than that."

-GREEK-

"I can't believe you're the new Omega Chi pledge educator," Rusty said to Dale as they walked outside after their senior seminar class. "What made you want to do that?"

"I missed being in control of something," Dale said. "Last year I was a pledge and therefore being controlled. But before that I had USAG, Darwin Lied, my interns, or something else I was in charge of. Being pledge educator is going to bring me back to that."

"From what Calvin said, you're doing a pretty good job," Rusty said. "He was telling me that one of your pledges, Eugène, had a dream that he forgot to clean the living room, and you tied him to a chair and made him stay there an entire day because of it."

"What can I say, they fear me," Dale said. "Truth is I'd never inflict bodily harm on any of them, but they don't have to know that. It keeps them in check."

"I have to say I'm impressed with the job you're doing as pledge educator," Calvin said, joining them as he came outside from his class. "Just don't go overboard on making them fear you; we don't want to scare them away."

"I don't think we'll be scaring them away," Dale said. "But you know, sometimes it's better to be feared than loved, if you can't be both. But they are getting dates with ZBZ pledges for the formal, so soon I'll be both."

"Yeah, just throw sorority girls at them and they will love you," Calvin said sarcastically.

"It's what they want," Dale said. "And you have to give them what they want every now and then to keep them around."

"What about your pledges?" Calvin asked Rusty. "Are the KTs making an appearance at the formal?"

"We're making all the pledges go for at least an hour," Rusty said. "To show them they can't just blow off Greek events. This may be just a formal, but if we let them get out of this, then they'll think they can blow off something more important later on."

"That's a good way to put it," Calvin said. "You guys up for lunch?"

"Sure," Rusty said. "Then I have to go work on some stuff in the lab."

"I have to do that too," Dale said. "But first I've got to go to ZBZ. I haven't worked in a few days, and Laura told me the girls are complaining that they're running out of food and the house is getting dirty. But yeah, let's get lunch first."

"You know being pledge educator takes a lot of time," Rusty said. "Are you sure you're going to be able to do that, and be ZBZ hasher, and handle your classes?"

"I may have to run on coffee more than sleep sometimes," Dale began. "But yeah I can do it. I realized I want to be remembered at CRU somewhere other than in the science department, and now I will be."

"You might be remembered as the guy who gave the entire pledge class nightmares," Rusty said jokingly.

"Hey, I might be," Dale chuckled. "But at least they'll never forget me."

-GREEK-

"Is this what people in the fifties thought the world was really going to come to?" Kelsey asked Spidey half sarcastically as they walked out of their literature class. "That we'd turn into some lawless society where firemen ban and burn all books?"

"_Fahrenheit 451_ was based on some things that happened in the 1950s," Spidey said. "I'd say it's an exaggerated opinion, but we'll just have to read it to see where people were coming from."

"Literature is so boring," Kelsey said. "I can't believe I let you talk me into taking this class."

"It's an English credit, which we both needed," Spidey said. "And it's not that bad. _Animal Farm_ was an interesting read."

"Honestly, I thought the idea of that book was just crazy," Kelsey said. "You know when I was in high school English, my best friend and I would split up our reading assignments. She'd read half and I'd read half then she'd summarize her half for me, and I'd summarize my half for her. It gave us a little extra time to hang out, and it really worked for us and we aced the tests. What if me and you did the same thing?"

"I don't know," Spidey said. "Doesn't that sound a bit like cheating?"

"No, it's not like we'll be cheating during a test," Kelsey said. "We have to have this entire book read in less than a week. And you said yourself that you need to focus on organic chemistry. Well if we work together in this class, then you'll be able to spend more time on that."

"Okay, then why not I guess," Spidey said. "Cause yeah, I do have a lot due for lab this week that I'm a little behind on because of helping IFC get ready for the formal."

"That reminds me, I need to tell you something," Kelsey said. "You know my boyfriend, Robert? Well I guess you don't really know him but you're aware he exists. He's coming to CRU this weekend. For the formal, and he wants to meet my friends. I'd like you to come to dinner with us on Friday."

"Wait, he's coming here?"Spidey asked. "Why would you want me as the third wheel to your dinner?"

"One, you're not going to be the third wheel," Kelsey said. "Ashleigh and Rusty are coming, too. And two, I want my best friend and my boyfriend to get to know each other. I think you might find some things in common."

"I don't know about that," Spidey began. "But if you want me to come to dinner, I'll come."

-GREEK-

"You didn't have to come up here with me," Rebecca said to Evan as she turned on a street in Columbus, Ohio. "But thanks anyway."

"I figured you might like some company on the way here and back," Evan said. "And I needed a little break from campus. There's a park nearby; I can get some homework done there when you're at your meeting."

"Are you sure this is the right street?" Rebecca asked. "All I see is a bunch of houses, and Dr. Taylor said look for an office building."

"You said Walnut Drive, right?" Evan asked, looking at the map he had.

"No, I said Walnut Street," Rebecca said. "Now we're lost; you know you're a terrible navigator."

"Well couldn't the city people have used different nuts to name their streets and drives," Evan said, knowing Rebecca was mostly kidding.

"Maybe they didn't have any other nuts to choose from," Rebecca said, and then got a weird look on her face.

"That didn't exactly sound right," Evan joked.

"Hey, you started it," Rebecca said. "Oh, this road's a dead end."

"Well that helps," Evan said. "Just turn around and we'll backtrack. I see exactly where Walnut Street is on the map now." He showed her the map as she prepared to turn around.

"Yeah, on the other side of town," Rebecca said.

"We'll get there, though," Evan said. "If you're late, just tell Dr. Taylor we got our nuts a little confused."

"Speak for yourself," Rebecca said with a laugh. "I'd rather the first sentence out of my mouth not be an innuendo describing my boyfriend's inability to follow directions."

-GREEK-

"So thanks to everyone for helping prepare for the formal," the Pan-Hellenic president announced at the IFC/Pan-Hellenic weekly meeting. "Remember as members of Pan-Hellenic and IFC, you're required to attend. Any other business?" No one spoke up. "Okay then, you're dismissed; see you all at the formal!"

"Gotta get to lab," Spidey said to himself as he stepped onto the elevator after the meeting.

"Hold that please!" a voice shouted, and he held the elevator door open. A girl entered the elevator a few seconds later. "Oh hey, I should have figured it was you here. This is the third meeting in a row we've met here, and we've only been to three meetings."

"Yeah, I always have to rush out after meetings to get to lab," Spidey said.

"Me too; I'm a biology major," the girl said.

"Really, I didn't know that," Spidey said. "I'm in polymer science."

"Guess it never came up in the two short elevator conversations we've had," the girl said. "So, you excited about the formal?"

"I wouldn't say 'excited'," Spidey said. "Not many of my brothers are going since KTs don't exactly do the whole formal thing. I'm supposed to help make sure all our pledges get there."

"I'm not much of a formal person myself," the girl said. "Which seems weird seeing as I'm in a sorority, but they can be fun sometimes. Like if you have a date, which right now I don't."

"Neither do I," Spidey said.

"Really, I thought you and that one girl from ZBZ were dating," the girl said. "I'm not a stalker; I've just seen you together a few times."

"No, we're not dating, we're just friends," Spidey said. "She has a boyfriend, who happens to be coming here for the formal." The elevator dinged and the door opened.

"Hey, then what do you think about going to the formal together?" the girl asked. "If we're going to keep meeting on the elevator like this, why not get to know each other better?"

"You know what, yeah," Spidey said. "That sounds great."

-GREEK-

"I can't believe I helped set up my little sister on a date," Dale said to Calvin as he found him in the Omega Chi living room. "Abby and I just finished matching up the pledges. Rachel's going with your little brother, actually."

"Oh," Calvin said surprised. "You set Rick up on a date?"

"Well, he is one of our pledges, so yes," Dale said. "Why, should I be worried about him and my sister? Even though we don't get along very well, her plus guys still worries me."

"Aw, how sweet of you to be concerned," Rachel said mockingly, appearing behind Dale and Calvin.

"How'd you get in here?" Dale asked. "You can't just waltz in anywhere without knocking; this isn't Mama Kettlewell's house."

"One, I would have if no one answered the door," Rachel said. "And two, one of your pledges let me in."

"So what's going on?" Dale asked.

"I'm here to tell you to tell your pledges about the pre-formal pledge mixer we're having tomorrow night," Rachel said.

"How come Abby didn't tell me about it?" Dale asked. "We just finished the matchups literally ten minutes ago."

"She doesn't exactly know about it yet," Rachel said. "This is something I'm planning for the pledges as part of my campaign for pledge class president. This'll give us all a chance to get to know our dates before the formal. But I really need your help to make sure it happens."

"Really, you actually need my help," Dale said. "I never thought I'd hear you say that."

"Well you are pledge educator, as much as that still surprises me," Rachel said.

"It would make the pledges happy," Calvin spoke up.

"Yeah, okay then we're in," Dale said.

"Excellent," Rachel said. "And we can have it here, right? It's not like I can reserve Dobler's myself, since I'm underage. Unless you'd do that too."

"I think having it here would be just fine," Dale said.

"This just might help me win the pledge class presidency," Rachel said. "Thanks. Maybe us being on the same campus won't be so bad after all."

"She always goes nice when she gets what she wants," Dale said to Calvin after Rachel left.

"Well like I said, it's not just what she wants, it's what our pledges will want, too," Calvin said. "And to answer your question from before, I can honestly say you don't have to worry about Rachel going to the formal with Rick."

-GREEK-

"Thanks so much for letting Robert stay here, Rusty," Kelsey said as she, Rusty, Ashleigh, and Spidey were in the KT kitchen. "He was a little peeved that he couldn't stay in my room and didn't really want to get a hotel."

"It's not a big deal," Rusty said. "We've got the extra space."

"And obviously he can't stay at ZBZ," Ashleigh said. "That would just be awkward for Heather. And against sorority regulations. What did he expect?"

"I don't know," Kelsey said. "I assumed he had a hotel room. Hey if you don't mind I'm gonna go clean up one of the spare rooms a bit."

"If you really want to," Rusty said. "But I know the pledges have cleaned some of them up already."

"I just want to make it look nice," Kelsey said. "I'll go check."

"So who exactly is coming to visit?" Ashleigh asked sarcastically after Kelsey went upstairs. "Her boyfriend, or the queen of England?"

"I'm really not looking forward to spending time with this guy," Spidey said. "But having you guys there might make it a little more bearable."

"Believe me, I don't want to spend time with him, either," Ashleigh said. "Kelsey's been acting a bit different the past few days and Robert hasn't even gotten to town yet. She's all about trying to impress him and thinks he won't accept her life here."

"If he won't accept her life, then she shouldn't even be with him," Spidey said. "Kelsey wants us to like each other, and I really don't see that happening. I can already tell I don't like him."

"Calvin has this ex-boyfriend that I really didn't like," Rusty began. "When they were dating, Calvin wanted us to get along and at first it didn't work, but eventually it did. I learned to stand being in the same room as him for Calvin's sake. The point is, you don't have to like Robert, you just have to tolerate him and get along with him because Kelsey's your friend."

"I guess 'tolerate' might be doable," Spidey said. "I just don't see 'like' happening."

"Oh my God, I just had a thought," Ashleigh spoke up suddenly.

"What is it?" Rusty asked.

"You know who I think Robert might be?" Ashleigh asked. "I think he could be just like Travis."

"That jerk," Rusty scoffed. "That could make sense, though, the way she's acting about him coming to visit."

"Someone want to tell me who Travis is," Spidey spoke up.

"My high school ex-boyfriend who I also dated for half of college," Ashleigh said. "And I think Kelsey's turning into the same person I did whenever Travis came to visit CRU. It almost makes me want to be Frannie and knock some sense into her. But I don't think it's my place to do that. It wasn't Frannie, or Casey, or anyone else at ZBZ that made me realize what a jerk Travis was; I had to figure it out on my own. Kelsey's going to have to do the same thing, sooner or later."

"Yeah, I think that's what it comes down to," Rusty agreed. He turned to Spidey. "So before Kelsey came over, you were saying something good happened to you today."

"Yeah, I got a date for the formal," Spidey said. "With a girl I ran into on the elevator after the IFC and Pan-Hellenic meeting."

"Really, that's great!" Rusty said proudly. "You seriously met on an elevator?"

"Well, we ran into each other after every meeting since I started IFC," Spidey said. 'Which was only a few weeks ago, but still. I had this split-second thought that maybe it's time to put myself out there, and stop hoping that other things are going to change."

"You've always gotta have hope," Rusty said. "Remember that. But you're right about putting yourself out there; it could lead to something good."

"I might know her if she's on Pan-Hellenic," Ashleigh spoke up. "Wait, is it Caitlyn from ZBZ? Rebecca told me she likes someone at KT."

"No, her name's Hillary and she's in Beta Theta Tau," Spidey said. "She's a sophomore, like me, and got the Pan-Hellenic spot for her house thanks to her big sister being president. Hey, I just thought of something."

"What is it?" Rusty asked.

"I'll tell you later," Spidey said. 'I've gotta make a phone call." He left the kitchen and got out his cell phone as he began walking upstairs. "Hey, how would you like to come to dinner tomorrow night with me and some friends?"

-GREEK-

"I'm glad you came, Rebecca," Dr. Taylor said to Rebecca in her office. "I hope I didn't dump too much at once on you; I know it's a lot to think about."

"It all sounds interesting, but six more years of school, I don't know," Rebecca said. "What if I invest that much time and then figure out that it's not what I want to do?"

"For one thing you'll have internships throughout the program that'll give you hands-on experience," Dr. Taylor said. "And also you can decide to start with the two to three year Master's program first, and see how it goes from there. If you decide you don't like it, having that Master's degree would still help you in something else."

"I'll definitely think about it all," Rebecca said. "Thanks for meeting with me."

"No problem," Dr. Taylor said. "E-mail me if you have any questions." Rebecca said goodbye and walked out of Dr. Taylor's office, where she saw Evan sitting in a chair in the hallway.

"Hey, I thought you were in the park," Rebecca said.

"I was, but then it started raining," Evan said. "How was the meeting?"

"Dr. Taylor thinks I might be a good fit for a career in forensic psychology, which is actually a step up from what she does," Rebecca said. "I'm just not so sure about the six more years of school it would involve. She gave me some info on a few top grad schools; I guess I know what I'll be doing over semester break."

"I could see you doing something like that," Evan said. "If you think it's something you'd like, then I'd give a graduate program a try. If you decide you don't like it after the first year, then the extra education will still help you somewhere else."

"Yeah, that's sort of what Dr. Taylor said," Rebecca said. "I might just go for it. Maybe it'll pay off and I'll end up making $100,000 a year someday. Ready to go, and I'll leaf through these packets of information on the way?"

"How about we grab dinner up here, first?" Evan asked. "My treat; I just got paid for my first month back at my TA job yesterday."

"Sure, I'd like that," Rebecca said, and her and Evan began to leave the building.

-GREEK-

"I can't believe you got all this alcohol by donation," Cappie said to Casey as they were making a round at the charity formal. "I should have thought about throwing a party for charity back at KT."

"We still have to pay to drink it, though," Casey said. "But all the profits go to the cause."

"Well, I don't mind paying if it's to support an event that you started," Cappie said. "Even though you practically had to force me into this suit to come here, it looks like everyone's having a good time and like you said, it's for a good cause and it'll help your aunt in her next campaign."

"Thanks Cap, but I technically didn't start it," Casey said. "It was mostly my aunt and the other people above me on the political totem pole that got the event going."

"But as I recall, you were the one that pitched the idea to your aunt," Cappie said. "And that's a start."

"Yeah, it may have been my idea," Casey said. "But I'm not going to get the credit for it. I didn't get to do any of the major planning."

"Are you Casey Cartwright?" a man asked, approaching Casey and Cappie.

"Yeah, that's me," Casey responded, unsure who this man was.

"I'm Benjamin Stevens; I'm a congressional colleague of your aunt Carol," Benjamin said. "She told me you gave her the idea for this formal, and I have to say I'm impressed."

"Thank you," Casey said, slightly taken aback. "But it was just my idea; I didn't really do much else for the event."

"Well you're just starting out," Benjamin said. "And the start to becoming a great politician is having great ideas. You come up with ideas, you prove yourself, and then you move up. That's how it worked for me, and there's no doubt that it's going to work for you, too. Carol says you're doing an excellent job, so keep up the good work."

"Thanks," Casey smiled and Benjamin walked over to a small group of important-looking men.

"Great idea, Casey," a woman said, passing by Casey and Cappie. "This event will help charity, and it gives my husband and me a night away from the kids. It's a win-win."

"Thanks," Casey smiled at her and she walked toward the bar.

"And you thought you weren't going to get the credit," Cappie said. "I was thinking about announcing over the loudspeaker that my girlfriend, Casey Cartwright, was the brain behind this little shindig, but it looks like people already know."

"Would you have really used the word 'shindig' when talking to a room full of professionals and their significant others?" Casey chuckled. "And I guess I didn't think about it the way Benjamin put it; that coming up with ideas is still important, especially for me just starting a career."

"Yeah, he's right," Cappie said. "You've got a good thing going for you, and I believe your career is only going to get better." Casey smiled at him, just as the DJ put on the song, 'Nothing Like You and I.'

"You know this is the first song we danced to freshman year," Casey said.

"I remember," Cappie said. "It was my first date function as a KT pledge, and I invited you. So what do you say we dance to it again?"

"Do you even have to ask," Casey smiled at him and he led her out to the dance floor.

-GREEK-

"We're under the reservation for Robert Stevens," Rusty told the hostess as he and Ashleigh walked inside the restaurant. "He and his girlfriend are meeting us here."

"Okay, right this way then," the hostess said and began to lead them to a table. Before they got very far, Spidey walked in with a girl Rusty and Ashleigh had never met before.

"Hey," he greeted. "This is Hillary. Hillary, this is Rusty and Ashleigh. Rusty's president of my house and my big brother, and Ashleigh's his girlfriend."

"Nice to meet you," they greeted.

"You too," Hillary said. "Rusty, you're Spitter; Spidey and Spitter, that has a nice ring to it."

"Yeah, that's what some of the brothers said, too," Rusty said.

"And Ashleigh, you don't happen to be former ZBZ president Ashleigh, do you?" Hillary asked. "If you are, I heard about you in Pan-Hellenic at the new members meeting."

"Yeah, that's me," Ashleigh said, as they all arrived at the table and sat down. "What's Pan-Hellenic have to say about me now?"

"Good things," Hillary assured. "About how you and Casey helped bring ZBZ back to number one."

"Hey guys," Kelsey said as she and Robert arrived at the table.

"Hello again," Robert said, as he'd seen everyone earlier that day at the KT house. Everyone greeted each other and sat down, and then Kelsey saw a person she didn't know at the table.

"Hi," she said to Hillary. She turned to Spidey. "I didn't know your cousin was visiting."

"Hillary's not my cousin," Spidey said.

"Well I know you don't have a sister," Kelsey said. "So if she's not your cousin, who is Hillary?"

"She's my date for the formal tomorrow," Spidey said. "Hillary, this is my friend Kelsey."

"Oh, you didn't tell me you were going with someone," Kelsey said. "And hi, Hillary, nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Hillary said. "So you guys are pretty good friends."

"Yeah, we are," Kelsey said, and then began looking at her menu.

"Would you look at all these salads," Rusty said, looking at his own menu.

"Yeah, we should order," Ashleigh said. A waitress came over a moment later and the group placed their orders. Everyone was silent after the waitress walked away.

"So, what's everyone's majors?" Robert asked, breaking the silence.

"Polymer science," Rusty said, seeing no one else was in a hurry to speak.

"The same, actually," Spidey finally said.

"I have a friend who's in engineering," Robert said. "He barely makes it by in his classes, and he's not even in a frat. But I guess it doesn't look like you need a very high GPA to be in a frat like Kappa Tau."

"We prefer 'fraternity'," Rusty defended. "And we have raised our GPA significantly over the past year."

"Hey, be nice," Kelsey whispered to Robert.

"Sorry," Robert said. "I've just never been a fan of the Greek system. And Ashleigh, you were the one that got my girlfriend involved in it."

"I just suggested she pledge ZBZ, and she wanted to," Ashleigh said.

"You look old enough to be a college graduate," Robert said. "Did you become the sorority's maid or something?"

"I did already graduate, and no I'm not their maid, or house mom as it's really called," Ashleigh said. "I'm just an alum."

"I just think the Greek system would be a complete waste of time," Robert said. He turned to Rusty and Spidey. "You two are obviously smart if you're in engineering, but to give you a little advice, you'd probably be a lot better off if you didn't waste your time on a houseful of guys like the Kappa Tau Gammas. Anyway, I have to use the little boy's room." Robert left and the table was silent for a moment.

"I have to use the restroom, too," Spidey spoke up and left quickly. He walked into the men's room and saw Robert at the sink washing his hands.

"Seriously, who the heck do you think you are?" Spidey raised his voice at Robert, startling him a little. "I've tried to be nice to you, but you've been nothing but insulting to me and my friends and my brothers since you got here this afternoon."

"Geez, melodramatic much," Robert scoffed. "I'm not trying to be mean; I'm an honest person and I say what I'm thinking."

"Well, I think that you don't think before you talk," Spidey yelled at him. "There's a difference between honest and rude, and you're just plain rude. And when I said you're insulting my friends, that includes your own girlfriend, who you treat like crap!"

"What's going on in here?" Rusty asked, opening the door to the bathroom.

"Yeah, what is going on?" Kelsey asked accusingly, also entering and not caring she just walked into the men's bathroom. "Why were you just yelling at my boyfriend?"

"Because he deserves it," Spidey said. "I've tried to be nice; we've all tried to be nice. But he's been nothing but rude and insulting since he got here."

"Look, he doesn't mean anything by it," Kelsey said. "Can you please just let it go and can't we all just get along?"

"No, you said the same thing earlier at the KT house and nothing's changed," Spidey said. "And how can you not see he's insulting your life too? If this is the guy you want me to like, then forget it. I don't want to see him ever again."

"Uh, you know I still have my stuff in your house, dude," Robert said.

"Well, _dude_," Spidey began. "You better get your crap out of the house before Rusty and I get back and find another place to stay this weekend."

"I didn't expect you to be best friends but I thought you could at least get along with Robert for my sake," Kelsey said angrily to Spidey. "And he does not treat me like crap! Come on Robert, we'll just go to a motel." Ashleigh and Hillary were standing outside the bathroom door when Kelsey and Robert left.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that," Spidey said to Hillary.

"Don't worry about it," Hillary said. "From what I saw, the guy was a total jerk, and if it were me and my friends he was attacking, I would have yelled at him too."

"He was a jerk when we were all trying to be nice," Ashleigh said. "But apparently he just doesn't know how to be nice back."

"What did he say earlier, anyway?" Hillary spoke up.

"Well the first thing he told me when Kelsey and I picked him up was that I need to get a new car," Ashleigh said. "Well, he may be made of money but I'm not."

"Then when he saw me and Rusty, he looked at our clothes and asked us where the nearest flea market was," Spidey said.

"And then nothing about the KT house was right to him," Rusty said. "It was too dirty, too noisy, it smelled too much."

"And now Kelsey's mad at me," Spidey sighed. "But I don't really want to talk to her right now, either. We ordered dinner we haven't eaten yet, so let's go eat."

A/N: Robert's an idiot, isn't he? Just a little preview for next chapter: two people we all know and love pay a visit to CRU. Bet you can guess who! :)


	6. We're Still Sisters

Episode #6: We're Still Sisters

Setting: ZBZ's Founders Weekend

Synopsis: ZBZ has its biggest Founders Weekend in its history when Nationals publicly recognizes the chapter for winning the Golden Lily award. Also, Rebecca tries to impress the Grand National president, and Kappa Tau and Omega Chi step in to help ZBZ. Casey and Ashleigh also help out and end up getting surprising news.

-GREEK-

"I think we're finally finished with our speech," Casey said as she and Ashleigh walked into the KT kitchen, where Cappie and Rusty were sitting at the table. "You know I didn't see myself coming to ZBZ's Founders Weekend for at least another twenty years. This is the kind of event that was always more for the older alumnae."

"But that was until you found out your chapter was being publicly recognized by Nationals," Cappie said.

"Rebecca said there are over a thousand alumnae coming back this weekend," Ashleigh said. "It's the biggest Founders Weekend in chapter history. She had to reserve the campus auditorium just to have enough room for the ceremony."

"And Tegan and everyone on the Grand Council will be there," Casey said. "So will the Grand National President, _Mary Beth Gentrie-Manning."_

"But at Nationals isn't coming to give ZBZ any restrictions," Rusty said. "Being recognized as the number one chapter in the nation is a pretty big deal."

"And it'll help the house get more money from alumnae," Cappie said.

"Yeah, we may be too young and too poor to be hit up for money at Founders Weekend," Ashleigh began. "But those that actually do have money are going to be extra generous this year."

-GREEK-

"Rebecca, I've got some bad news," Kelsey said to her in a panic, walking into the ZBZ house. She then noticed that the pledges and sisters seemed to be in a panic, moving quickly around the house, and some of the pledges were cleaning.

"I really can't take bad news right now," Rebecca said. "Mary Beth Gentrie-Manning's secretary called and said Mary Beth is on her way and she'll be here in about three hours. We weren't expecting her until tomorrow afternoon, so nothing's ready. Please, just go help the pledges that are fixing up her room."

"But this is important," Kelsey said. "I just called the banquet hall to confirm tomorrow night's dinner, and the manager doesn't have our reservation. And I couldn't get one because they're already booked for a wedding reception."

"What!" Rebecca exclaimed. "I called them in August to book the Founders Day dinner. You're telling me that we've got a dinner with over a thousand people tomorrow, and no place to have it!"

"Apparently so," Kelsey said. "I'm sorry; I don't know what could have happened. Maybe we could get a bunch of chairs and just have the dinner here."

"No, there's not enough space," Rebecca said. "Besides, the banquet hall was supposed to cater it. We'll handle Mary Beth Gentrie-Manning; I need you to go fix this. Find us another place to have the dinner, and stat!"

"I'll see what I can do," Kelsey said. "Where's the phone book? I'll look in the yellow pages."

"Top drawer to the right of the sink in the kitchen," Rebecca said quickly and left to go upstairs. Kelsey went and got the phone book then walked out of the ZBZ house.

"Oh, here's another banquet hall," Kelsey said to herself and whipped out her cell. "Hi, yes I was wondering if I could schedule a dinner for tomorrow night? How many people, well, about twelve hundred. Uh, hello? Great, they hung up on me; this is never gonna happen." She continued looking through the phone book, and wasn't looking where she was walking until she walked right into someone. "Sorry," she said, and then she saw who it was. "Oh, hi."

"You've been avoiding me for the past two weeks and that's all you've got to say?" Spidey asked.

"I don't have time to talk right now," Kelsey sighed. "I need to find a place that will host the Founders Day dinner for twelve hundred people in less than thirty hours, or Rebecca might just have a heart attack." She walked away without another word. Spidey arrived back at KT and saw Rusty and Anthony Hopkins in the living room.

"Hey guys, if you had to organize a dinner with twelve hundred people in a day's time, what would you do?" he walked up to them and asked.

"Order a bunch of food from Marty's Pizza & Wings and cram everybody in here and the yard," Anthony Hopkins said. "Our biggest parties of the year have had more than that many people."

"Why are you planning a dinner with twelve hundred people?" Rusty asked.

"Technically I'm not," Spidey said. "ZBZ is. Something happened with the Founders Day dinner and now they've got nowhere to have it. And it's tomorrow night. I ran into Kelsey on my way back; literally, she ran right into me. She acts like she's still mad at me, but that's not the point right now."

"You know we could help ZBZ with the dinner and Founders Weekend as philanthropy," Rusty said. "Rebecca called Ash and Case, and everyone at ZBZ seems to be freaking out trying to get everything set up."

"Yeah, and I just got this e-mail today about how we're behind on philanthropy hours," Anthony Hopkins said.

"What if we catered the dinner?" Rusty asked. "We all watch the Food Network enough; I'm sure we can cook."

"That's a little too ambitious," Anthony Hopkins said. "We don't have enough people, or space, to cook dinner for that many people in one day."

"Besides here at the house, there are kitchens in all the pledges' dorms," Rusty said. Calvin had entered the house, and he walked up to them before anyone could respond.

"Hey, are you guys talking about ZBZ's Founders Weekend?" Calvin asked. "Everyone at that house is in a panic, even Rebecca, who hardly ever freaks out. I'm thinking of sending some of our pledges over to help out."

"Hey, what if both our houses helped out," Rusty said.

"Yeah, we should," Calvin said. "I think the most they've ever had at Founders Weekend is a couple hundred alums, so having over a thousand this year is a pretty big step up."

"So if we help cook the dinner, they still need a place to have the dinner," Spidey said. "Neither one of our houses is big enough; we can't expect elderly women to sit in our yard."

"You know when I was a kid, my family's church would have these dinners a few times a year," Calvin began. "Where each family would cook something, and people from church would come to our house, then go to the next house, and so on."

"Like a progressive dinner," Rusty said. "That's a great idea; if ZBZ gets some extra tables and chairs, we'd have enough space at each of our houses for a third of the people."

"Awesome, I'll go talk to my house then pitch the idea to Rebecca," Calvin said.

-GREEK-

"Dale, I agreed to pay you time and a half for coming in on short notice," Rebecca said, entering the kitchen where Dale was cooking. "Step things up a bit in here; I can't make Casey and Ashleigh stall Mary Beth forever!"

"First, I made you pay me time and a half because you called me out of lab to come here," Dale said. "And second, do I look like I'm on Top Chef? I'm doing my best. And third, you seem more uptight about this weekend than you normally would. I know she's your Grand National president, but why are you so bent on impressing her?"

"If I can impress Mary Beth Gentrie-Manning, that could be my first step to getting a scholarship through ZBZ," Rebecca said. "And it's not just Mary Beth; it's the entire Grand Council and all our alumni who need to love this weekend, so in turn she will love it. I will not go begging my father for money to get me through grad school, no way! So I need a scholarship."

"You know, when I was hired as hasher, I was hired to cook for the sisters, not for the Grand Council or elderly women with food allergies," Dale said. "This technically isn't in my job description."

"Fine, then I'm asking you as a friend," Rebecca said. "Can you _please_ help me and the house out this weekend?"

"I'm just messing, of course I'll help," Dale said with a laugh. "For time and a half of course. My research budget is starting to run a bit low."

"I'll pay you time and a half through the weekend," Rebecca said. "I'm going to go check on the pledges upstairs." Rebecca left the room, and then Rachel and a few other pledges entered the kitchen and took a few cookies that were on a plate.

"Hey, those are for Mary Beth!" Dale shouted. "Her secretary said they're her favorite, and they're gluten free, since she's allergic."

"Relax, I don't think she's going to eat the entire plate," Rachel said. "We've been running around getting ready all afternoon; we're starving."

"Well when you're done here," Dale began. "Start setting the tables."

"You're not our pledge educator," Rachel said.

"Rachel, Hannah, Sarah, set the tables for dinner," Abby said, entering the kitchen.

"No, but she is," Dale said.

-GREEK-

"I'm glad we got out and didn't get roped into helping with Founders Weekend stuff," Evan said to Cappie as they sat in Dobler's. "I stopped by ZBZ before I came here and Rebecca said Omega Chi and KT are both helping them now."

"Did they find somewhere to have the dinner?" Cappie asked. "Casey called and she and Ashleigh were on their way to pick up the Grand National president from the airport, and she said something about the banquet hall messing up."

"Yeah, Calvin and Rusty came up with the idea of a progressive dinner," Evan said. "So ZBZ is going with that, for lack of a better option on such short notice."

"Sounds like they've got it covered, then," Cappie said.

"So I saw you and Casey went to some charity ball a few weeks ago," Evan said.

"Yeah, Casey helped get it started," Cappie said. "How'd you know about that, though?"

"I may be a serious law student, but I do check my Facebook every now and then," Evan said. "Speaking of law school, I found out I can graduate early. At the end of next fall's semester. It'll involve taking summer classes and extra classes during the year, though."

"Really, wow," Cappie said. "Law school sounds like enough work as it is, but graduating early; I guess the only advice I can give you is don't die."

"It may be a lot to take on, but I think it's worth it," Evan said. "What about you and Case, how's D.C.?"

"We love it there," Cappie said. "She loves her new job, and I've been able to work some and still be home a good amount of time."

"Well I'm glad things are working out for you," Evan said.

"Actually, I did want to ask you something," Cappie said. "This may sound completely out of the blue, but it's something I've thought about lately. What do you think about marriage?"

"Well I'm flattered," Evan said jokingly. "But we can't get married in this state; besides, I've got a girlfriend, and so do you."

"Ha ha," Cappie said, throwing a balled up napkin at him. "And I'm talking about me and Casey."

"Wow, you're going to propose to her?" Evan asked.

"Eventually I am," Cappie said. "I'm just not sure when, or how, or even if I should be thinking about it at the moment."

"Well of course you should be thinking about it," Evan said. "It shows you want a future with her, which is what she wants to know. What got you thinking about it, though?"

"I know I want to spend the rest of my life with her," Cappie said. "But what got me thinking about it recently; it's sort of been our neighbors. I told Casey that they're us in five years. Every time I see them, I think that's what I want for me and Casey, and I want to make it happen sooner rather than later."

"If you're asking me if I think it's too soon, I don't think it is," Evan said. "But it's not something you should rush just to get it over with. You should give yourself time to pick a ring, plan how you're going to ask her, talk to her dad; all that stuff."

"Yeah, I guess it would help to do all that first," Cappie said. "But, purely hypothetical question; if I proposed to her tonight, do you think she'd say yes?"

"There's no doubt in my mind that she would say yes," Evan said. "That's something you don't have to worry about."

"Thanks," Cappie said. "And no one else knows about this yet, just so you know."

"Your secret's safe with me," Evan said.

-GREEK-

"Okay, so Rebecca called Dale over to ZBZ to make dinner for the sisters and Mary Beth," Casey said to Ashleigh. "When she gets here, we need to stall until Rebecca calls us to say dinner's ready and the house is presentable."

"You know, just when we think we're out of sorority business, something else comes up that brings us back into it," Ashleigh said. "But hey, if it gets you to come back to Cyprus for a visit, then I'm not complaining."

"Yeah, when I told my aunt that it was going to be our biggest Founders Weekend in history," Casey began. "She was more than willing to give me a few days off work to come here early."

"I think that's Mary Beth," Ashleigh said, pointing to a woman in a crowd of people who were walking toward baggage claim.

"Mrs. Manning," Casey said as she and Ashleigh approached her.

"Casey and Ashleigh," Mary Beth greeted. "I remember you two, of course, and I've heard so many good things about you. It's so nice to see you, and to come to your home chapter. And thank you so much for picking me up. It's so great to see alumnae so willing to help out like you two are. Tegan told me about how you helped at this year's recruitment; she says you're two of the best recent alumnae of this chapter."

"Well we're sisters for life!" Ashleigh said, putting on her enthusiasm. "Happy to help whenever we can. So Mrs. Manning, can we show you around Cyprus for a bit before we go to the house?"

-GREEK-

"I think our houses have pretty much taken over every dorm kitchen on campus, at least in the freshman dorms," Calvin said as he walked through campus that night with Rusty and Rebecca.

"You know I wasn't sure about this at first," Rebecca said. "Really, I didn't think fraternity guys were very good cooks."

"Well, being a pledge teaches you a thing or two," Calvin said, and then his phone went off.

"And so does watching the Food Network, in KT's case," Rusty said.

"A few of the pledges in Pearson Hall apparently had an incident involving a bag of flour," Calvin said, reading his text message. "It got all over the floor, and they need more."

"They're pledges; they can get more," Rebecca said. "We're quality control inspectors here; not gophers." Just then, Rusty saw a few of his pledges speedily running toward them.

"Mr. Spitter, we've got a problem!" Pledge Alfred Hitchcock said.

"What is it?" Rusty asked.

"We sorta set off the fire alarms in Morris Hall," Pledge Larry said.

"What are you guys even doing in there?" Rusty asked. "You don't live there; that's not even a freshman dorm."

"We snuck in," Alfred Hitchcock admitted. "There were already ZBZ pledges on both of our floors."

"You can't just sneak in somewhere you don't live," Rusty said. "If you couldn't find anywhere else to go, you should have gone back to the house and helped the guys there. What did campus security say to you?"

"We ran away before they could find out we did it," Larry said. "There were angry people who got woken up that started chasing us, though. But we lost them."

"Well, then you're gonna haul ass back to the house, and now," Rusty said. "Or else they're going to find you and turn you into campus security, and get our house in trouble."

"Got it, we're going," Alfred Hitchcock said, and the two pledges took off running.

"I knew someone was going to set off a fire alarm," Rebecca said.

"Yeah, but it just had to be at 2:15 in the morning," Rusty said. Then they saw Casey and Ashleigh walking toward them with a few shopping bags.

"Hey; what are you guys doing?" Calvin asked.

"We've been wrapping Mary Beth's favors for the alumnae since 10:00," Ashleigh said. "Anyone want an extra button?" She held up a pink button that said _'Cyprus-Rhodes University; ZBZ Golden Lily Award Winner.'_ "She gave us way too many of the favors, but not enough bags and paper to wrap them. So we made a 2AM run to the campus store."

"Thanks for doing all that, by the way," Rebecca said.

"Yeah; you couldn't get any of the sisters to help us, though?" Casey asked.

"Sorry, cooking dinner for over a thousand people is harder than it sounds," Rebecca said. "Even with Omega Chi and Kappa Tau helping right now. So how's Mary Beth?"

"She's been asleep since 9:30, remember," Ashleigh said. "You were still at the house when she went to bed."

"Just making sure," Rebecca said.

"I think I'll head back to ZBZ with this stuff and just turn in there," Casey said. "Cappie called me about a half hour ago saying he was crashing on Wade and Heath's couch since KT is a little busy. We can just finish up in the morning, Ash."

"Do you want me to walk with you back to the house?" Ashleigh asked.

"I'll walk back with you," Rebecca said. "The pledges in the dorms are almost finished cooking, anyway."

"Night, guys," Ashleigh said to Casey and Rebecca and they walked away. She turned to Rusty and Calvin. "I'm supposed to work in the morning. I've never called in sick before, but I'm seriously considering it tomorrow, er today. I am seriously exhausted; between midterms this past week, working, and now ZBZ stuff, I've barely slept, and I'm starting to feel the sleep deprivation."

"You should take the day off," Rusty said, putting an arm around her. "They probably didn't give you fifteen sick days and expect you to actually be sick on all of them; who's actually sick fifteen work days out of the year, unless something's seriously wrong?"

"Yeah, everyone needs a mental health day every now and then," Calvin said.

"And by 'mental health day,' it'll probably be a 'help ZBZ day'," Ashleigh sighed.

"Call in sick, and we'll do something before you do anything ZBZ related, just you and me," Rusty whispered to Ashleigh. "Between me spending so much time in the lab, and your schedule, we've barely spent any time alone together lately."

"Okay, you got me," Ashleigh smiled and kissed him. "I'd love that."

-GREEK-

"I can't believe you put me in a hotel room with a total bitch," a young alumna said to Rebecca the next evening at the ZBZ house. "She slept with my boyfriend sophomore year and we've hated each other ever since. Besides, I thought I reserved a single room."

"Due to the limited space in the hotel, and the huge amount of people here, we had to put some people who didn't have roommates together," Rebecca said. "Besides, we're all supposed to be sisters; why dwell on something that happened ten years ago?"

"It was seven years ago," the alumna said. "I'm all for sisterhood, but anyone who betrays me is no sister of mine."

"Isn't that a wedding ring I see you have?" Rebecca asked. "You're married now; why should it matter that she slept with your boyfriend then, when you've got a husband now?"

"I'm married to the man she slept with," the alumna said.

"Well, then look who ended up with the guy," Rebecca said. "You've got him; he's yours, not hers. So why hold a grudge on her; just be sisters and celebrate ZBZ this weekend with the rest of us. And get along as roommates."

"I guess I'll try," the alumna sighed, and went to join a group of her sisters.

"Great push for sisterhood there, Rebecca," Mary Beth Gentrie-Manning said, walking over to her.

"Oh Mrs. Manning, hi," Rebecca said. "I didn't even see you there."

"Yes you did," Mary Beth smiled. "I can tell when someone's trying to impress me, especially a ZBZ sister."

"Am I trying too hard?" Rebecca asked.

"Not at all," Mary Beth said. "I love being impressed, and I love what you've all done. So tell me, what delectable gluten-free dish is prepared for me here?"

"Come, sit down," Rebecca said, gesturing for Mary Beth to follow her to the tables, where the first group of alumnae were sitting down to eat. Others in the group were gathering in the living room and on the stairs. "Dale has prepared something I think you'll love."

-GREEK-

"I can't believe we had to wear suits for this," Dump Truck said as some KT brothers were watching the pledges clean up the tables that had been set up in the backyard, after a group of ZBZ alumnae left the KT house. "If we need philanthropy hours, couldn't we just get Beav to hook us up with something else at his school?"

"Think of this as helping out the house that helped us last year," Rusty said. "Remember when Rebecca got her pledges to help us move into the new house."

"But still, we could do without all the formality," Dump Truck said. "I'm sure these people know what KT was like back in their time."

"Well Rebecca gave me this lecture about making sure everything was presentable, including ourselves," Rusty said. "She's trying to impress the Grand National president."

"Well it worked," Anthony Hopkins said. "This doesn't even look like the KT backyard anymore."

"By tonight it will again, once we throw a party when this is all over," Pickle said. Then, Casey, Ashleigh, Rebecca, Kelsey, and Heather walked out back, followed by Mary Beth Gentrie-Manning. Rusty walked over to them when he saw them.

"Mrs. Manning, welcome to Kappa Tau Gamma," Rusty greeted politely. "I'm Rusty Cartwright, president. Nice to meet you"

"Yes, Casey's brother," Mary Beth said, shaking his hand. "Very nice to meet you, too. You boys sure clean up the place nice. And I love that we're eating in the backyard here; it's such a nice night."

"That it is," Rebecca said. "Looks like the food's ready." Rebecca and her little sisters went with Mary Beth over to a table, as more alumnae began filing in and sitting down to eat.

"It looked like you were all Mrs. Manning's entourage when you came in," Rusty said to Casey and Ashleigh. "Is Rebecca's plan working?"

"Rebecca made us be Mary Beth's entourage with her," Casey said. "The others on the Grand Council are staying back at ZBZ for the entire event, but Mary Beth wanted to come to here and Omega Chi."

"And so far she seems impressed," Ashleigh said. They joined the rest of the crowd that was eating. The KTs, mostly the pledges, were bringing out food to the alumnae.

"Hey, I'll take that over to the table," Kelsey said, approaching Spidey who was carrying a dish of some kind of casserole. "And I wanted to say thanks."

"For what?" Spidey asked.

"For telling your brothers about the dinner dilemma, which in turn got us some help," Kelsey said.

"Well, Rusty thought you all might need it," Spidey said. "It's obvious your house has had a lot on its plate this week."

"That's an understatement," Kelsey said with a small laugh. "And look, I'm sorry for avoiding you these past few weeks. I got into this huge argument with Robert after what happened at the restaurant, and I blamed you for it. I shouldn't have; you didn't know him and you may have misinterpreted his attitude and thought he was being mean. Truthfully, a lot of people do when they meet him for the first time. I shouldn't have been so mad about you standing up to him. So, friends?"

"Yeah, friends," Spidey said. "Besides, I could use my literature class partner back."

"Believe me, so can I," Kelsey smiled. "I better get back over to Mary Beth's table. But here, I will take that like I said." She took the dish of casserole from him.

"So how is it being part of someone's entourage?" Spidey asked.

"As one of Rebecca's little sisters, I kinda got dragged into the entourage," Kelsey said. "But Mary Beth is a pretty interesting person. She actually grew up next door to Katie Couric's mom. And she said she's going to tell some stories from her time as a ZBZ active." Kelsey looked over at Mary Beth's table and saw them all laughing about something. "I better go see what I'm missing."

-GREEK-

"I admit I was skeptical about the state of Zeta Beta Zeta when I attended Founders Weekend two years ago," an alumna was speaking at the Nationals' recognition ceremony in the campus auditorium the next day. "I was the obsessive sorority girl type during my years as a ZBZ. I loved the house a lot, and I still do. I was so disappointed two years ago that I didn't even bother to come back for Founders Weekend last year. But after I heard that this chapter won the Golden Lily award, I suspected I misinterpreted things a little. To the current actives; you ladies have all worked hard, especially over the past few years. Keep up the good work, and keep the legacy of ZBZ alive for future generations of sisters. I'm proud to call myself a Zeta Beta Zeta sister, Class of 1975." The alumna stepped down and everyone in the auditorium applauded.

"Thank you, Tiffany," Tegan was the next person to take the stage. "Next, we'll hear a few words from Casey Cartwright and Ashleigh Howard, two very distinguished Zeta Beta Zeta alumnae from the Class of 2010."

-GREEK-

"So what does being alumnae of the number one chapter in the nation mean to us," Casey spoke as she and Ashleigh were onstage finishing their speech. "It means we worked hard to make this happen. And we wouldn't rest until the house was out of the turmoil it had been in during recent years."

"Those of you who were at Founders Weekend two years ago know that we were having some trouble," Ashleigh spoke. "Casey and I were graduating that May and we didn't want to leave the house to Rebecca in the condition it was in. So Casey and I did our best to bring good things back to the house, and we succeeded."

"And I speak for both myself and Ashleigh in that we feel Rebecca is doing a great job as president and in keeping the house on top," Casey said. "We're glad to be a part of this weekend, to have Mrs. Manning and the Grand Council here, and to see so many alumnae of all ages here to celebrate with us. Thank you all for being here."

"Go Zeta Beta Zeta!" Ashleigh said. Casey and Ashleigh exited the stage, and more applause came from the audience.

"Thank you, Casey and Ashleigh," Tegan said, retaking the stage. "These two are great examples of Zeta Beta Zeta sisters, and they continue to show their support as alumnae. Next, I'd like to call up our Grand National president, Mary Beth Gentrie-Manning, to speak."

"Thank you," Mary Beth said, taking the stage. "Fellow Zeta Beta Zeta sisters, I'm honored to be here this weekend and to be able to spend some time at your chapter. I can honestly say now that this chapter is well deserving of the Golden Lily award, and myself and the Grand Council made the right decision in choosing you for the honor. Something that impressed me was not only the support of the sisters in preparing for this weekend, but the support of other members of the Greek community here at Cyprus Rhodes. It was wonderful to see fraternities helping out, and I know some of the members of those houses are here today, so I want to say thank you. And I'm sure I speak for the rest of the active sisters and alumnae when I say that."

"In addition to honoring this ZBZ chapter as a whole today," Mary Beth continued. "The Grand Council and I have another honor to make. I'm sure most of my fellow sisters are aware of the Alumna of the Year contest, but for those of you who aren't, we at Nationals choose ten recent ZBZ graduates from around the country as contenders, and the Alumna of the Year winner is officially announced at our national convention in the spring. What we look for in the contenders is success as actives, as well as continued support for their chapters upon graduation. We award full tuition reimbursement to the winner. It doesn't happen very often that we nominate two members from the same chapter, but we felt these two sisters were both well-deserving of the nomination. Casey Cartwright and Ashleigh Howard, I'd like to call you back onstage." Casey and Ashleigh stared at each other dumbfounded, but then broke into smiles and walked onto the stage toward Mary Beth. They could hear loud cheering in the audience, especially coming from who sounded like Cappie and Rusty in the back.

"Casey and Ashleigh," Mary Beth said to them. "On behalf of myself and the Grand Council, I'd like to formally announce your nomination for Zeta Beta Zeta's Alumna of the Year. If you'll accept, that is."

"Of course I accept!" Ashleigh said excitedly.

"As do I!" Casey said.

-GREEK-

"Congratulations, Case!" Cappie greeted her proudly and hugged her as she finally found him after the ceremony.

"Thanks, Cap," she said excitedly. "I still can't believe they nominated me."

"You deserve it," Cappie said. "You've worked hard and I know you still care about the house."

"Well congratulations," a voice from behind interrupted. "Seems your time in the ZBZ spotlight isn't over after all."

"Thanks, Bex," Casey said. "And I guess not. I'm starting to feel less in shock about it and more excited. It really is an honor."

"Yes it is," Mary Beth approached them. "And I'm looking forward to seeing how you and Ashleigh are doing the rest of the year, and seeing you in Florida for the convention this spring. And Rebecca, thank you again for doing such a fine job with Founders Weekend. As a graduating senior, I think you should know that we offer scholarships through ZBZ for continuing studies. I strongly encourage you to apply, especially after telling me you may have quite a bit of school still ahead of you."

"Thank you, and yes I'm thinking about it," Rebecca said.

"Wonderful," Mary Beth said. "I'm sure I'll see you ladies back at the house later."

"Well I guess my plan worked," Rebecca said once Mary Beth left. "She's happy, and she even told me about applying for a scholarship."

"Hey guys!" Ashleigh said as she and Rusty approached the group.

"Congrats, Ash," Cappie said. "I'm anxious to see how this little friendly competition plays out."

"Thanks, Cap," Ashleigh said. "And it'll be fine; I'm not worried."

"Neither am I," Casey smiled. "We're both deserving, and may the best woman win!"

"We should celebrate tonight," Rusty said. "And by that I mean come to KT night at Gentleman's Choice."

"Yeah, Wade said he was having KT night tonight," Cappie said. He turned to Casey. "Wanna go?"

"Why not," Casey said. "I could use a night out before we go back to D.C."

-GREEK-

"To my two favorite ZBZs," Katherine raised her glass as she, Casey, and Ashleigh sat at a table at Gentleman's Choice. "We may have had our share of differences in college, but believe me when I say I'm glad we became better friends after graduation. And here's to good luck for both of you in the running for Alumna of the Year."

"Cheers to that," Ashleigh said as they raised their glasses. "And thanks! I love our alumnae lady drink dates, even though our current one happens to be in the midst of a college party."

"When I was actually in college I never thought I'd ever set foot in a place like this," Katherine said. "But dating Walter for the last year has really brought out a different side of me; a side that says there's nothing wrong with having a little fun every now and then. Heck, if I didn't, I'd probably end up going crazy with the stress of graduate school."

"Has it really been a year for you two already?" Casey asked.

"Yep, Walter and I celebrated a year together a few weeks ago," Katherine said. "You know how they're now building the athletic center where the old KT house used to be? He took me there after the construction workers had gone home for the night and we had a picnic and stuff."

"Beaver took you to the construction site?" Casey asked confused.

"Yeah, because that's where the house was where I lost my virginity, and he knew how much that meant to me," Katherine said. "And he told me that's where he first realized he was in love with me last year."

"Aww, that's so sweet," Casey smiled. "No offense, but I'm surprised he remembered."

"I bought him an electronic planner for his birthday over the summer," Katherine said. "That thing is his life now; he uses it to remember everything from which kid in his class is having a birthday, to our anniversary, and even to remembering to put on pants in the morning." Katherine chuckled at that. "And something else happened that night, too. An inspector from Laskerplex decided to come by when Walter and I were there. We were a little indisposed when the man saw us, and he screamed and kicked us off the property. We were in an enclosed area of the construction site so we didn't even see or hear him until it was too late."

"Oh my God, you didn't even tell me about that," Ashleigh said with a laugh. "I noticed they put up a wired fence and 'No Trespassing' signs about a week ago."

"I guess that's probably why," Katherine said. "It may not have been ideal that a random man saw us naked, but it's an anniversary I'm going to remember for the rest of my life."

-GREEK-

"Here's to yet another eventful visit back at CRU," Cappie said as he, Beaver, Rusty, Wade, and Heath were hanging out at another table at the club.

"It's always good to have you back, Cap," Heath said.

"Cheers to that," Beaver said and they raised their glasses.

"It sure looks like you're running this place pretty well, Wade," Cappie said.

"It's awesome!" Wade said. "I'm making money like it's my job."

"It is your job," Rusty pointed out.

"Yeah, but half the time it doesn't feel like work, and that's what's so great about it," Wade said. "I did have to fire a bartender last week, though."

"For what?" Cappie asked.

"Stealing five hundred dollars worth of booze," Wade said. "But one of Spitter's pledges knows a little something about bartending, so he's filling in until I get a replacement."

"Speaking of the pledges," Cappie said. "From what I see, it seems like they're fitting into KT pretty well."

"They are," Rusty said. "They still have a long way to go, but we definitely found the right guys in this year's pledge class. They all belong at KT."

"Remember me telling you about my neighbor, Tom, who's also a former KT?" Cappie asked, and the guys nodded. "I told him I was coming back this weekend and seeing my KT brothers, and he told me he hardly ever sees his brothers anymore; it's been a few years since he's seen any of them."

"Well you said he's married and has a daughter," Heath said. "That probably gave him less time to see them."

"But say one of us gets married and/or has a kid," Cappie said. "Hypothetically speaking at the moment," he added when the guys gave him questioning looks. "We still need to make guys nights a regularity. As much as I love living in D.C., the closest thing to a guys' night I've had in a while was watching the Washington Nationals game with Tom in his apartment while drinking beer, when Casey and Katie took Lizzy to the park."

"Aw, you miss us, Cap," Beaver said. "Well, the feeling's mutual."

"Yeah, you haven't been up here since the 4th of July," Wade said. "When we set off those fireworks at the house that somehow destroyed a window."

"Which I'm glad you had fixed right away," Rusty said.

"I do miss just hanging out like this," Cappie said. "Old people don't lie when they say you're going to miss college."

"But you don't have to be in college to have fun like you're in college," Rusty said. "We're having just as much fun tonight as we did when you were still going here. Life's going to happen, but that doesn't mean we're all never going to see each other again. Maybe Tom just wasn't meant to be lifelong friends with his brothers."

"But I have a feeling we are," Beaver said. "When we're eighty years old, we'll be the old men causing trouble in the nursing home."

"I'll only be seventy-eight," Rusty said.

"Well Spitter if you haven't been admitted to the nursing home yet," Wade began. "You can always stop by every afternoon and bring us food. And beer."

"If we're eighty year-old men in the nursing home," Heath began. "Are we really going to still be drinking beer?"

"Drink until you die!" Beaver said. "That should be the new KT motto."

"Well I don't think we have to worry about being senior citizens anytime soon," Cappie said with a laugh. "But I guess it's nice to know we have a plan for when we are."

"Let's just get another round and enjoy the rest of this weekend," Rusty said. A bartender brought them over another round of beers.

"Cheers to guys' time," Cappie said. "And many more times to come."

A/N So Casey and Ashleigh are both up for a ZBZ award; more on what happens with that will come up in future chapters. And Beaver and Katherine had an anniversary. How do you think Cappie and Casey will celebrate theirs? You'll have to wait until the next chapter to see! :)


	7. Celebrate Good Times

Episode #7: Celebrate Good Times

Setting: A few weeks after #6

Synopsis: Cappie and Casey celebrate their one year anniversary, and the KTs plan a party.

-GREEK-

"Hello," Casey answered her phone groggily as it rang before she woke up one morning.

"I'm sorry," Cappie said immediately, knowing by her voice that he woke her up. "It totally slipped my mind that you had today off work, and I just ruined your sleep until noon plans."

"It's okay," Casey smiled. "I've got enough to do around the apartment today that I don't need to be sleeping until noon. Like getting it cleaned up a little before you come back on Thursday."

"You know by now that you don't have to clean for me," Cappie said with a laugh. "Besides, I never care if the place is clean or dirty when I come back from a week or more at work; all that matters is I'm coming back to you."

"Aww, I can't wait for you to come home," Casey said. "Especially because the day after you come back is our anniversary!"

"Yes, speaking of our anniversary, I can't wait to show you the surprise I have for you," Cappie said.

"Ooh, what is it?" Casey asked excitedly, but knowing he wouldn't tell her anyway.

"Now if I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, would it," Cappie said. "Just be prepared to be amazed."

"Oh I'm more than prepared," Casey said happily. Just then she heard someone knocking on the door. "Someone's at the door. I better go, but we'll talk later. I've got some preparations of my own to do for our anniversary."

"You don't have to go all out," Cappie said. "Isn't that the guy's job."

"If the girl cares enough, it's her job too," Casey said. "And I care and I really want it to be special. This is our first full year we've been together."

"It will be special, I promise you," Cappie said. "I'll let you go get the door. I love you; I'll call later."

"Okay, and I love you too," Casey hung up the phone and went to answer the door.

"Hello, delivery for Casey Cartwright," a woman dressed in a FedEx uniform was at the door with a large box sitting on a wheel cart beside her.

"That's me," Casey said. "I'm pretty sure I know what this is."

"Here, I'll help you bring it in," the woman said, grabbing one end of the box as Casey grabbed the other.

"It's my boyfriend's anniversary gift," Casey said. "It's kind of a present for both of us actually, but it's my surprise for him."

"That's nice," the woman said. "I hope he has quite a surprise planned for you, too."

"He said he does," Casey said. "I'm excited to see what he has in store."

-GREEK-

"Here, have a flyer," Pledge Barney handed Ashleigh a piece of paper when she entered the KT house looking for Rusty.

"KT Foam Party, this Friday," Ashleigh read to herself. She saw Rusty coming downstairs toward her, and he was stopped by another pledge.

"I called my aunt who talked to her boyfriend who called his cousin," Pledge Barf said. "And he's going to bring us the foam machine for the party."

"Great, thanks pledge," Rusty said. "Go pass some of those flyers around, would you."

"I can't wait for this party," Pledge Barney said. "A foam machine and sorority girls in bathing suits; it's gonna rock!" With that the two pledges left the room.

"As you can see we're having another awesome party," Rusty said to Ashleigh as they started walking toward the living room. "Pledge Barf's aunt's boyfriend's cousin works for a party machine company and he's letting us use one of his best machines."

"I'm kinda surprised I went through four years of college without seeing the KTs throw a foam party," Ashleigh said with a laugh. "Hey, you know Cappie and Casey's anniversary is also on Friday? I was talking to Cappie online earlier today and I convinced him to tell me his surprise for Casey. She's going to absolutely love it; I'm so excited for her right now."

"He was telling me about his possible plan when he was in town," Rusty said. "So I'm guessing it came through."

"Yeah, it did," Ashleigh said with a smile. "You know I really think he wants to propose to her. His surprise just shows he's thinking seriously about a future with her."

"I think you're right," Rusty agreed. "Some things he said back during Founders Weekend made me think he might be thinking about marriage. You know when I first met Cappie freshman year, 'one woman man' or 'the marrying type' weren't things I'd use to describe him. But after seeing him and Casey and the fact they're finally making it work this time around, I have no doubts that they're going to get married. And I couldn't be happier for them."

"Me either," Ashleigh smiled. "You know what I think? I think he's going to ask her sometime around Christmas. I can see him wanting to ask your dad first, who we'll all see at Christmas, and then he'll propose to her soon after that. Oh, how romantic would it be if he asked her on New Years'!"

"I'm thinking he might wait a while longer," Rusty said. "He might be thinking that she isn't ready to get married, what with her just starting her career and them only being in D.C. a few months. But I can see him asking her sometime next year."

"I don't know; something just tells me it's gonna happen sooner," Ashleigh said. "If he had a plan, he'd probably propose to her on their anniversary."

-GREEK-

"Sounds like you guys are really coming along on this project," Calvin said as Heath and Ashleigh were talking to him about the work they'd been doing on their international business project.

"We've been working on the recruitment portion of our hypothetical organization," Ashleigh said. "So we've been thinking of strategies to get college students interested in volunteering overseas."

"Heath and I have a meeting with the organization we volunteered with in India over semester break to talk about where we're going after graduation," Calvin said. "And we can ask them about letting us do some campus recruiting."

"Marketing anything is all about finding your right target, first and foremost," Ashleigh said. "For volunteering overseas, you want people who like to travel, who work hard, and can live in third world countries. You can even use the project to pitch them some ideas, unless you're saving them to use for yourselves someday."

"I think we should give them some of the ideas," Heath said. "Like volunteer training; some of the people we worked with in India really shouldn't have been there. It's like they didn't even know what they were getting into."

"Yeah, some of them were lazy and probably just wanted a free ticket out of the country," Calvin said.

"Think of it like the Greek system," Ashleigh said. "That's something college students can relate to. It's all about finding the right guys or girls during Rush, and it should be the same way for finding the right people to volunteer on overseas projects."

"And then they go through training, which is like Hell Week," Heath said. "Then if they pass, they're initiated and become volunteers."

"I better get to my class," Ashleigh said after checking the time on her cell. Calvin and Heath said goodbye and they began walking toward Greek Row, and on the way they ran into Calvin's little brother, Rick.

"I've been looking all over for you," Rick said.

"You know I own a phone," Calvin said with a laugh.

"That you apparently forgot to turn back on after class," Rick said. Calvin took his phone out and sure enough it was on silent and he had a missed call.

"Sorry," Calvin said. "So what's up?"

"I think a girl just asked me out," Rick said. "You know Dale's sister, Rachel, who I was set up to go to the formal with. We've been friends since then and she asked me if I wanted to go to the KT party together. I thought nothing of it thinking she meant just as friends, but then some of my pledge brothers said they think she likes me. I don't want to lead her on; I don't know what to do."

"I've learned from personal experience that in a case like that, the best solution is to be honest," Calvin said. "If you like her as a friend and think you can trust her, then what do you think of telling her?"

"I don't know; you two have been the only people I've been able to tell at CRU because you're like me," Rick said. "I just don't know about telling anyone else yet. Hey, maybe I can just fake the flu; that's what I did when this girl in fifth grade asked me to the junior high formal."

"But what if she wants a rain check?" Calvin asked. "I'm not trying to push you to do anything you're not ready for, but think about it. Heath and I are here for you; we've both been there."

"Hey Cal, don't you think it's time we take him to Gentleman's Choice?" Heath spoke up.

"You know you're right," Calvin said. "We should."

"The strip club your friend runs?" Rick asked confused.

"No, there's another one," Calvin said. "It's a gay club. You've been surrounded by so much straight since coming to college; what do you say? I'll cover for you if we run into anyone we know."

"Wouldn't hurt I guess," Rick said. "I've never really been to a gay hangout before."

-GREEK-

"I smell ham and shrimp!" Cappie exclaimed happily, entering his and Casey's apartment. "And…citrus air freshener?"

"Hey you," Casey greeted him with a smile, walking over to him and kissing him. "I'm so glad you're home."

"I'm glad I'm home too," Cappie smiled, hugging her. "Did you seriously make ham and shrimp sandwiches? I love you right now!"

"Just right now?" Casey asked jokingly. "I thought you loved me all the time."

"Of course I do," Cappie said. "How did you remember that they were like my favorite thing to eat back at KT?"

"After finding about the third moldy half-eaten sandwich when I used to clean out your room," Casey began. "It kinda stuck in my memory. I thought I'd make them for you as a welcome home dinner, and to start our anniversary celebrations a day early."

"I'm all for that," Cappie said. "But what's up with the citrus air freshener?"

"That was my way to try to get rid of some of the smell," Casey said with a laugh. "Ham and shrimp together-not exactly my kind of combination. That's one of the smells I couldn't stand in your room that caused me to clean it with lemon scent more than once."

"I have to say the citrus is better than the lemon," Cappie said. "To be totally honest, I thought the lemon always smelled like pee. But it didn't smell worse than having a drunk Beaver actually peeing in my closet."

"So note to self, don't buy any more lemon scent air fresheners," Casey said.

"Please don't," Cappie chuckled. "Citrus I'm okay with."

"You ready to eat?" Casey asked. "The ham and shrimp is all yours; I made regular grilled ham and cheese for me."

"Let's dig in," Cappie said as they headed for the kitchen. He then noticed something large up against one of the walls in the living room that was covered with a bed sheet. "Hey, what's that sheet covering over there? I don't think it was there when I left."

"That, you'll just have to wait to find out," Casey said teasingly. "It's just a little something I put together."

"You're not gonna make me wait until tomorrow, are you?" Cappie asked with a slight whine.

"I was going to," Casey said. "But if I did, you'd come out in the middle of the night like a five-year-old on Christmas who tries to sneak a peak at his presents. So I'll show you later tonight. I hope you don't mind that my surprises are coming a day early."

"I don't mind one bit," Cappie said. "That'll give me all day tomorrow to surprise you."

-GREEK-

"I can't believe I'm stuck being sober sister for the KT party tomorrow," Rachel said with slight exasperation as she saw Dale and Laura in the ZBZ kitchen. "And I have a date besides, which makes it ten times worse."

"Well given your past experience with alcohol and parties, this might be a good thing," Dale said. "I might have suggested to Rebecca that she have you be sober sister."

"What, why would you do that?" Rachel asked annoyed. "I'm not in high school anymore; if I want to drink I can drink."

"Need I remind you of the incident in eleventh grade with you and alcohol," Dale said. "And the one last Saturday at the Omega Chi party."

"Okay, so I like to party," Rachel said. "Big deal; it's college and that's what I'm here for. It may have taken you three years to learn to actually have fun in college, but that doesn't mean I'm waiting that long."

"No matter how much you think I'm trying to ruin your life," Dale began. "This one's really for your own good. I'm going to check on the laundry."

"I think I can take this from here," Laura said.

"What do you mean, 'take it from here'?" Rachel asked Laura once Dale left. "Did you two plan some kind of intervention on me? Seriously?"

"Well how do I put this," Laura began. "You've been acting a bit Betsy-ish at parties, to say the least."

"A bit who-ish?" Rachel asked confused.

"Betsy; a sister who graduated this year who's been in and out of alcohol rehab twice," Laura said. "And we found out a few weeks ago that she's back in again. You falling into the bushes at the Omega Chi house last weekend was a classic Betsy move."

"I basically spent my entire senior year of high school under constant watch of my parents because I got drunk at a party the end of my junior year," Rachel said. "But now that I'm eighteen years old and 500 miles away from Mom and Dad, I can enjoy myself again. I'm not becoming an alcoholic, I swear. And I'm sure I can find some way to handle sober sister tomorrow."

"All the pledges have to do it sometime," Laura said. "And even the actives. I'm not gonna tell you what I did to get out of it one time, or else I know it's going to give you a bad idea."

-GREEK-

"I think I'm ready to show you my surprise, Cap," Casey said as she turned off the TV and got up off the couch.

"Good, cause I've been debating what could be under that sheet for the entire two hours we've been watching _Grey's Anatomy_," Cappie chuckled and also got off the couch. "But honestly I've got no idea whatsoever."

"Go ahead; I'll let you take the sheet off," Casey said. Cappie removed the bed sheet and underneath was a display case filled with Cappie's KT stuff, Casey's ZBZ stuff, and some of their favorite pictures from their time at CRU.

"This is incredible, Case," Cappie said with a smile, looking at everything that was in and on top of the case.

"I'm even going to hang our pledge paddles and a few other pictures on the wall above it," Casey said, opening a nearby drawer and taking out their pledge paddles. "I didn't want to do that before you got here, or you might have wondered why they were there. I figured why leave all of this stuff in boxes; CRU was where we became who we are, and now this is going to remind us of that every day."

"Thank you so much," Cappie said, taking Casey in his arms. "I was actually thinking about hanging my KT stuff up somewhere. I didn't want to be like Lasker and just chuck it all in the back of a drawer never to be seen again."

"We hadn't really gotten a chance to decorate the apartment yet, so I thought this would be a good start," Casey said. "And you'll be proud of me; I put the display case together myself. I ordered it online so of course it shipped in pieces."

"I am proud of you," Cappie said. "This really is the best present I could have asked for, because of the thought you put into it. I didn't want you to go out and buy something expensive."

"Well then I won't tell you the price of the display case," Casey said with a laugh. "But I'm really glad you like it. This has been my plan since soon after we first moved in here."

"It's perfect and I love it," Cappie said. "And from now on, I'm leaving all the apartment decorating up to you. I love you so much."

"I love you too," Casey smiled and they kissed.

-GREEK-

"Looks like the foam machine arrived," Rusty said as he came back to the KT house after class the next day, noticing a large truck just pulling out of the driveway. He walked out back and sure enough it had been delivered and set up.

"We can't figure out how to turn this thing on," Pledge Curly said when he saw Rusty. Pledges Larry, Curly, and Moe were by the machine trying to learn how to operate it.

"Have you tried pushing that button?" Rusty asked once he walked over to them.

"That would be the strobe light," Moe said once the light came on after pushing a green button.

"Oh, what about this one," Larry said, pushing a blue button. As soon as he pushed it, all four of them were blasted with foam from above.

"Okay so blue button, foam," Moe said.

"Great, now how about turning it off until tonight," Rusty said, after none of the pledges made a move to turn it off.

"Right, sorry," Curly said, pushing the button again and stopping the foam from raining down on them.

"Hey, I thought the party wasn't until tonight," Spidey said jokingly, walking out back and seeing Rusty and the pledges covered in foam.

"We were just figuring out the technicalities of this machine," Rusty said, grabbing a towel that was on the picnic table.

"Looks to me like it works," Spidey said. "So I need to talk to you about a situation I've managed to find myself in."

"What kind of situation?" Rusty asked.

"My sort-of girlfriend and my friend both think I'm their date for the party tonight," Spidey said. "Kelsey and I have always gone to parties and Greek events together, but she knows Hillary and I have been casually dating I guess you'd call it since the formal. I don't know what to tell either of them."

"The formal was almost a month ago," Rusty said. "There comes a time when casually dating isn't casual anymore. If you're sure you're dating Hillary for the right reasons, you can have a chance at a real relationship, if that's what you want."

"That is what I want," Spidey said. "But with Kelsey it's like she always expects we're going together to parties or whatever else. She didn't even really ask about tonight; she more or less assumed we were going together."

"Well I learned from personal experience that you should never jeopardize a friendship for a relationship," Rusty said. "But if Kelsey technically didn't ask you first and you just talk to her, she really doesn't have a reason to be mad at you. Even though she's your friend and has a boyfriend out of town, that doesn't mean she can take away your right to date someone."

"You're right," Spidey said. "All Kelsey and I will ever be is friends, and now I think I might have found someone else I really like, so I have the chance to go for it."

"I'm really happy for you," Rusty said proudly. "Hey, you hungry?"

"Yeah, let's grab some lunch," Spidey said.

-GREEK-

"You've reached Casey Cartwright," Casey answered her phone as she sat in her cubicle at work.

"Hi Casey, just letting you know there's someone here to see you," the office secretary said.

"Okay, I'll be right down," Casey said and hung up the phone. She made her way to the front desk and was surprised to see who was there.

"Cappie!" she exclaimed, a little too loudly. She walked over to him. "I wasn't expecting to see you until tonight."

"I figured I'd come over and take you out to lunch," Cappie said. "And I figured what better day than to visit you at work and see your office. Oh, and these are for you. I figured they'd be nice for your desk." He handed her a vase with some flowers.

"Thanks, Cap," Casey smiled. "You can come back with me a minute; it's about time for my lunch break."

"How about going to Good Stuff Eatery?" Cappie asked.

"I'd love that," Casey said. "You know that's one of our favorite places to go." They arrived at Casey's cubicle and she set her flowers on her desk. "This is where I work most of the time. It's small since I'm new here, but I'm not complaining. Because when I'm not here I get to do some work with my aunt over at the Capitol building."

"I know how excited you've been when you come home after those days," Cappie said. "You have got to get me into the Capitol sometime; I want to see what the hype is about."

"It just really excites me and I love being there," Casey said. "That's where the laws are actually made. Eventually once I move up, I hope I'm working there full time. Once that happens, then I might be able to see about getting you a free visit." Casey grabbed her purse, then she and Cappie made their way out of the office and toward the restaurant.

"Remember the first time we came here when we first moved?" Cappie asked as he and Casey arrived at Good Stuff Eatery.

"Yeah, you were so excited that we got to meet Spike Mendelsohn from Top Chef," Casey said. (A/N- I've been there, great place, and Spike from Top Chef is the guy who started the restaurant)

"And I thought if I told any of the guys that I'd have to get about twenty autographs from him," Cappie laughed. "KTs really love cooking shows, which may sound surprising due to the limited amount of cooking that gets done around the house."

"But it paid off for the Founders Day dinner," Casey said. Just then Cappie's cell rang; he noticed it was an unfamiliar number but he answered anyway.

"Hello," Cappie answered. "Oh, hi. Yeah, I'll be there in about an hour. I'm with Casey now so I gotta go. Okay, bye."

"Who was that?" Casey asked curious.

"Oh, it was Tom," Cappie lied. "He just bought a new recliner and he wants some help, and the use of my Jeep, to get it home."

"I thought he worked all day during the week," Casey said.

"They gave him a day off so he decided to go recliner shopping," Cappie said. "I mean have you seen his chair; I think the thing's older than you and me."

"Uh huh," Casey said suspiciously. "I'm just going to pretend to believe you and be a good girlfriend and not pester you about what you've got up your sleeve."

"You'll find out soon enough," Cappie smiled at her.

-GREEK-

"Is there a yard here under all this foam?" Rebecca commented as she and her little sisters arrived at the KT party that was now in full swing.

"It looks like so much fun; come on!" Kelsey said, and just then her phone rang, and she took it out and put it to voicemail.

"You know that's the fifth time that's rang in the last half hour," Heather pointed out. "You sure you don't want to answer it; what if someone's in the hospital? I hope that's not the case, but…"

"I'm not answering it," Kelsey interrupted. "I know exactly what it is, and no one's in the hospital. I'm being stalked from three different directions: from my boyfriend, my parents, and his parents. Ever since the formal weekend it's gotten worse. Our parents are constantly, quote, 'checking in to make sure everything's all right between the two of us'. And Robert doesn't trust me at parties, not that I've ever given him a reason not to. It's not like I go around hitting on other guys; I just come to hang out with my friends, and in this case play in the foam."

"You know that for every good thing you say about Robert, you say about five bad things," Rebecca pointed out.

"If you've known him forever like I have," Kelsey began. "You'd see that he has a good side." Her phone rang again. "But the stalking lately by him and our parents is getting to be a bit much."

"Jell-O shots, anyone!" a KT pledge said, approaching them with a tray of shots.

"Come on, let's take some," Kelsey said to the girls. "I could really use some alcohol tonight."

-GREEK-

"Oh my God, that guy was hilarious," Casey said as she and Cappie walked out of DC Improv, a comedy club and restaurant he took her to for dinner and the show. (A/N- I've been there too and loved it!)

"I thought so too," Cappie said. "I'm glad you liked it; I know you talked about wanting to go there."

"I love going to comedians," Casey said. "And I haven't been to one in a while."

"Remember when he was making those jokes about men who get their wives or girlfriends horrible gifts for their birthdays or anniversaries?" Cappie asked.

"And he mentioned lingerie," Casey said. "Ironic, huh, since I distinctly remember someone who tried to pull that once."

"I really wasn't," Cappie tried to convince her. "I was just making you think I was, to throw you off."

"Sure," Casey laughed and leaned up against him as they continued walking down the street.

"So now, are you ready for the big surprise of the night?" Cappie asked.

"Go ahead and wow me," Casey said with a smile. Cappie led her over to a limousine that was parked on the side of the street.

"Our ride awaits," Cappie said, as the driver got out and let them in.

"You rented us a limo?" Casey asked surprised. "Okay, now I'm really curious where we're going."

"Oh, you'll see," Cappie said. "Champagne?"

"Yeah," Casey said, and Cappie grabbed the bottle of champagne and two glasses from the bar.

"Cheers to our first full year together and many more to come," Cappie said once their glasses were filled.

"Cheers," Casey smiled and they clinked their glasses, and looked out the window as the limousine took them through D.C.

-GREEK-

"Dale, I think you should know your sister's drunk and won't come out of our bathtub," Rusty said, finally finding Dale in the midst of the Kappa Tau party crowd, where he was with Laura.

"What!" Laura exclaimed. "She's our sober sister tonight, and I thought she was clear with that."

"I can't believe this," Dale said, as the three of them shook the foam off themselves as best they could and entered the KT house. "What's she doing in the bathtub?"

"She was just lying in there," Rusty said. "Pledge Barf found her. True to his name, he threw up on her accidentally because he's a little drunk, and then she threw up." Rusty, Dale, and Laura walked into the downstairs bathroom and saw Rachel attempting to spray herself off with the shower hose. Once she saw them enter, she turned the hose on them.

"I have a hose!" she said, continuing to spray them.

"Turn that off!" Dale said, running over and turning it off himself.

"Aw, what'd you do that for?" Rachel asked, and then she grabbed his shirt a moment later. "You're wet; did Eddie push you in the pool again?"

"Help me take her back to ZBZ," Dale sighed and said to Rusty and Laura.

"No, we can't take her there," Laura said. "Rebecca or Abby can't find out that our sober sister was found drunk."

"We can take her upstairs," Rusty said. "Maybe there's at least one of the spare rooms that doesn't have a drunk couple hooking up in it. By the way, who's Eddie?"

"Our cousin," Dale said. "She thinks we're at our grandparents' house and Eddie pushed me in the water again." Dale, Rusty, and Laura eventually got Rachel into an empty room upstairs, and she was out as soon as they put her on the bed.

"She's going to be in some serious trouble tomorrow," Dale said. "I should just go and tell Rebecca right now."

"Don't," Laura said. "I'll take care of it. I'll tell Rebecca she got sick and hopefully nothing happens that'll make us need a sober sister, and we'll both talk to her tomorrow." Laura walked out of the room to find Rebecca, then Calvin and Rick entered the room.

"Hey, Rick's been looking all over for Rachel," Calvin said. "Whoa, what did you do, taser her?"

"We found her drunk in the bathtub," Rusty said.

"I think this might be partly my fault," Rick spoke up. "I told her…something I probably shouldn't have told her in the middle of a party, and then she said she was going to the bathroom and never came back. I'll stay here and watch her if you guys want to go back to the party."

"Thanks pledge, but I think this one's on me," Dale said.

"Trust me, Dale, let him watch her," Calvin said. "He'll call if she wakes up."

"Okay," Dale agreed. "I admit I was rather enjoying the foam machine."

"Last one back in it's a rotten egg!" Calvin said and took off running downstairs, with Rusty and Dale following close behind.

-GREEK-

"We're at a house," Casey said confused as the limousine pulled up at an unfamiliar house in a residential neighborhood in the suburbs of D.C. Casey and Cappie thanked the limo driver as he let them out, and he drove away back down the street. "Who lives here? And how come your Jeep is here?"

"Well my Jeep is here so we have a way back home," Cappie said. "As for who lives here now, it's a friend of my dad's from college and his wife and son." Cappie led her over to where his Jeep was parked in the driveway, and took her hands when they stopped. "I was talking to Tobias soon after we moved into the apartment, and he started talking about one of his friends who lives in D.C."

"Well they've got a nice place here," Casey said, looking at the house. "But I'm still confused why we're here."

"My dad's friend and his wife are retiring and moving to Florida in three years when their son graduates from college," Cappie said. "When that happens, they're selling this house. And they're selling it to us."

"What?" Casey asked surprised.

"When we were in college, I saw how important it was for you to know where you were going to be in ten years, or just in the future in general," Cappie said. "But I didn't think it was important to me then, and that's what caused things to go wrong between us in the past. But now, I know where I want to in ten years career-wise, and I know where I want to be with you. I want us to be living here, if you like the place. This is my way of showing you that I'm thinking about our future together. Consider it my unofficial proposal; I figured why have all the surprises in one night, but I promise there'll be an official proposal."

"Cap, it's perfect!" Casey exclaimed, throwing her arms around him. "It's like you knew exactly what I want in a house; close to D.C. but not right in the city, enough space to live in but not some expensive mansion, and not a huge yard because I hate mowing the grass."

"And you haven't even seen the inside yet," Cappie said. "Tobias' friend is going to take us through. I really hope you like it, Case. I could have gone out and bought you jewelry or something, but I thought that this would…" Casey cut him off by kissing him.

"Like I said, it's absolutely perfect," Casey said, smiling widely. "This means so much more than anything from a store would, because of the thought you put into it about our future. You know how much that means to me, and I love it. As for the proposal, you don't have to worry about what my answer's going to be. You can do your thing and ask me when the time's right."

"Believe me, I will," Cappie said. "And I can tell you now that I wasn't recliner shopping with Tom after lunch today; I was here. I love you, Case. Happy anniversary."

"I love you too, Cap; happy anniversary," Casey said and they kissed.

"You ready to see the inside?" Cappie asked after they broke away. "You're going to love it."

"Let's go," Casey said happily, and Cappie took her hand and led her to the front door.

-GREEK-

"Hey there, how y'all doin?" Kelsey said, obviously drunk, as she approached Spidey, Hillary, Rusty, and Ashleigh at the party. "Isn't this a great party?"

"It's awesome," Spidey said. "Looks like you might have reached your limit on the Jell-O shots, though."

"I'm fine," Kelsey said. Her phone rang again. "But I'd be finer if these people would quit calling me! I'd shut the darn thing off, but then they'd send the state police after me!"

"Hey where's Rebecca?" Ashleigh asked.

"She's with Evan here somewhere," Kelsey said. Just then, conga music began to play and a line was forming in the yard. "Conga line in the foam; come on now!"

"I hope I get major boyfriend points for coming here," Evan said jokingly to Rebecca where they were standing in another corner of the yard.

"Coming to see me at a Kappa Tau party might get you a few," Rebecca said. "You can't tell me you're not having fun, though. I'm not the only one of us that's covered in foam."

"I'll admit it's helping blow off some steam after a five hour study group session," Evan said. "We've been discussing divorce law, and Jan gets way too fired up when talking about anything divorce-related."

"I thought her and Jim already divorced," Rebecca said.

"They're still in the process," Evan said. "Jan's divorce lawyer is apparently 'a stupid idiot, just like Jim' in her words. She's trying to get a new one."

"Hey Bex, Evan, join us!" Ashleigh said, as she grabbed Rebecca's arm as the conga line passed them.

"A conga line where most of the people are drunk," Rebecca said. "This should be amusing." She grabbed Evan and they both joined in.

-GREEK-

"Where am I?" Rachel asked, waking up the next morning and noticing she was on an unfamiliar bed with Dale and Laura asleep on each side of her. She poked them to wake them. "Where are we?"

"We're at the Kappa Tau house," Dale said. "You, who was supposed to be ZBZ sober sister, got drunk at the party. Do you remember anything that happened last night?"

"Oh man," Rachel groaned. "The last thing I remember was the guy I thought I liked telling me he was gay, and then the next thing I know, well, this is the next thing I know."

"Oh wow, Rick's gay," Dale said. "It all makes perfect sense; he seemed different than most of the pledges and a lot like Calvin. Are you still friends?"

"Of course I'm still his friend," Rachel said. "I'm not intolerant, geez. It may have bothered me at first, but not for that reason. You may find this hard to believe but I did learn from my mistakes with my friends growing up, and I'm not making them again."

"What about the getting drunk?" Laura asked. "You know we saved your butt from Rebecca and Abby."

"Thanks, I won't forget it," Rachel said. "And it just happened that I got drunk. I was just going to come here and hang out, but then I had one drink and I guess that led to a lot more. You won't have to cover for me like this again. I'm not going to become like that girl Betty."

"Betsy," Laura corrected. "And believe me when I say I'm going to make darn well sure that you don't end up like her."

-GREEK-

"Ahhh!" Kelsey said startled as she was awoken by someone shaking her.

"Relax; it's just me, not an axe murderer," Spidey joked.

"Why was I asleep on your floor?" Kelsey asked, finally seeing where she was. "I vaguely remember saying hi to you guys last night, but I don't know how I got here."

"I didn't even see you here when I went to bed cause I didn't turn the light on," Spidey said. "But remember the last time you were drunk, you ended up on my floor, too."

"I guess it's cause your room is a safe place in the house during a party," Kelsey joked. "So how was your night, by the way?"

"I officially have a new girlfriend now," Spidey said happily. "Things are going really well. We're going out for brunch in a few."

"Well that's great," Kelsey said. "Do you mind if I just sack out here a little while longer? I can't muster up the energy to walk back to ZBZ just yet."

"Go for it," Spidey said. "But get up and use the bed; I'm sure the floor's not all that comfortable."

"Thanks, you're the best," Kelsey smiled.

-GREEK-

"Morning, Case," Cappie smiled as he woke up next to Casey. "It's Saturday, I'm home, and you don't have to work, meaning we've got the day all to ourselves."

"I'm glad," Casey said happily. "Even though I don't think anything we do today can top yesterday and last night. I can't stop thinking about that house; it's like it was made for us."

"I think it was," Cappie said.

"And I have thought before about how hard it would be to find a decent house at a decent price in this area," Casey said.

"And now you don't have to," Cappie said. "Don't you love how things are just falling into place for us? We're really lucky to be where we are and know where we're going."

"I think it means that we're truly meant to be," Casey smiled. "You know what they say, if it's meant to be it will be."

"That's the truth," Cappie said. "I don't know about you, but I'm a little hungry myself. How about some breakfast?"

"You know, I think there's some leftover pie still in the fridge," Casey said suggestively. "We could have that and stay in bed for a little while longer. We don't have to go anywhere today."

"I'll go get it," Cappie said excitedly and jumped out of the bed. "Be right back."

A/N: Hope you liked Cappie and Casey's anniversary! And a little KT party stuff thrown in there. Next chapter it's Thanksgiving, and Cappie and Casey will get some visitors from CRU. As always, thank you to those who review; I really appreciate reviews and would love to hear anyone's thoughts about the story! :)


	8. What I'm Thankful For

Episode #8: What I'm Thankful For

Setting: Thanksgiving

Synopsis: Rusty, Ashleigh, Evan, and Rebecca go to Cappie and Casey's apartment in Washington D.C. for Thanksgiving. Beaver, Wade, and Spidey prepare Thanksgiving dinner at the KT house. Calvin and Heath end up stuck in a small town due to a snowstorm en route to Calvin's house.

-GREEK-

"What's up with the Christmas music already?" Ashleigh asked as she walked into the KT house and heard "Jingle Bell Rock" playing from the stereo in the living room, where a group of pledges were cleaning. "They do know it's _Thanksgiving_ break, right."

"Pledge Flash has quite the collection of Christmas CDs," Spidey said. "Apparently the holiday spirit is hitting the pledges early. Getting ready to leave?"

"Yeah, is Rusty ready?" Ashleigh asked. "Rebecca and Evan are waiting outside."

"Spitter, your train's leaving!" Spidey hollered up the stairs.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Rusty said, hurrying down the stairs with his suitcase in hand. He saw Ashleigh and gave her a smile. "Sorry Ash, I was just helping a few of the guys finish preparing the turkey hunt."

"It's okay; it's not like we were leaving without you," Ashleigh smiled.

"Not that you could, since I'm the one driving," Rusty joked.

"There's some old guy parked out front in a beat up pickup truck," a pledge said as he walked in the house.

"That's my grandpa," Anthony Hopkins said, coming downstairs with his duffel bag. More brothers who were leaving for the break followed. "Adios, brothers and pledges."

"Bye guys; happy Thanksgiving," Rusty said to them as they left the house. "And this is the first clue for you and the guys who'll be here for the turkey hunt tomorrow." Rusty handed Spidey a slip of paper.

"Thanks, and you can count on me to hold down the fort here this weekend," Spidey said. "Actually, Beaver might have mentioned that one of his students from last year and her family is coming here for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. It's part of Cyprus Elementary's Adopt a Family program; giving a Thanksgiving dinner to families who can't afford one. I'm helping Beaver, Wade, and Katherine cook."

"That's great he wanted to do that," Rusty said. "I know those kids mean a lot to him."

"Are you guys ready yet?" Rebecca asked impatiently, entering the house. "We're already behind schedule and Evan and I are supposed to have dinner at my mom's tonight."

"Looks like everything's under control here," Rusty said. "Ready to hit the road, Ash?"

"Let's go," Ashleigh said excitedly. "I can't wait to see Casey and Cappie's place."

"Happy Thanksgiving!" Spidey said to them as they said goodbye and left the house.

-GREEK-

"Heath, did you check the weather forecast before we left?" Calvin asked as they were driving down the highway, and it was now snowing pretty hard.

"No, I guess I didn't think of it," Heath said. "Living in Cyprus, you don't exactly expect a freak November snowstorm, except for the one that happened last year."

"I'm surprised my parents haven't called me," Calvin said.

"I'll call them," Heath said and grabbed Calvin's cell.

"I'm sorry, but the number you have dialed is currently out of service," came the recording on the telephone as Heath put it on speaker. "Please try your call again later."

"Phone lines are down," Calvin said. "It must be snowing pretty badly at my house. We should just stop here and get a motel for the night. We'll just go the rest of the way when it clears in the morning."

"Yeah, we probably should stop," Heath said. "According to the GPS we're about an hour from Toledo right now."

"Meaning we're only about two hours from my house," Calvin said, as he pulled off at an exit.

"This town looks pretty small," Heath said as they drove into what appeared to be a small village.

"The exit sign said it had one restaurant and one motel," Calvin said. "That's good enough for us. Here it is."

"Hey, don't your parents have cell phones?" Heath asked as Calvin pulled into the parking lot.

"Yeah, but they don't get service at my house," Calvin said. "I'll try to call my grandparents when we get inside to let them know we're okay and to see how the weather's doing. But I'm sure it'll clear off by tomorrow."

-GREEK-

"Are we there yet?" Rachel said, sitting up from where she was lying down in the backseat of Dale's car. "I'm hungry."

"I told you to pack a snack," Dale said. "And no we're not there yet."

"What happened to the bag of chips?" Rachel asked.

"Uh, I might have finished it," Laura said.

"Why'd you do that?" Rachel asked.

"You've been asleep for the past hundred miles," Laura said. "I figured you'd sleep the rest of the way to my house."

"Just drive faster," Rachel said to Dale. "You're driving slower than Mama Kettlewell." With that she laid back down in the backseat and was asleep again within minutes.

"I can't believe my parents made us take her," Dale said. "I'm already meeting your parents for the first time; now I have to make her behave. She's not exactly the best houseguest."

"My parents are okay people," Laura said. "They're just not very fun. They're very strict, and they've got attitudes. Once, I got grounded for three days for not taking my shoes off in the house. And then there's my thirteen year-old sister, who's a royal pain in my ass."

"Living with a thirteen year-old girl is a royal pain," Dale agreed. "Trust me; I've lived with one, too."

"I thought thirteen year-olds were annoying when I was thirteen," Laura said. "Maybe it was because there were way too many bitches in my school."

"As much as you use that word," Dale said. "I think I've stopped taking you seriously when you call someone that."

"Wait until you see my mom," Laura said. "I bet you the first thing when we walk in the door, she'll be complaining about some bitch at work or who cut her off on the highway or wherever."

-GREEK-

"So by hitting the last-minute sales and using the coupons we cut out of the paper," Cappie said to Casey as they walked into their apartment with bags of groceries. "We saved a total of almost ten dollars on Thanksgiving dinner."

"I guess you really know you're living on your own in the real world when you turn into a bargain shopper," Casey said. "I was even somewhat considering getting up at 4AM on Friday to go to the Black Friday sales."

"That's right, I almost forgot about that," Cappie said. "I could really use that to my advantage." Before Casey could respond, there was a knock at the door.

"Hey, you guys made it!" Casey exclaimed, seeing Rusty, Ashleigh, Evan, and Rebecca at the door. Everyone greeted each other and they went inside.

"Wow, you've really got a nice place here," Ashleigh commented, looking around. "It's a lot better than my apartment in New York was."

"And you weren't kidding when you said you started decorating, Case," Rusty said, examining the CRU display case. "It looks great."

"Yeah, Suzy Homemaker, you've really done a lot with the place," Evan joked.

"Thanks guys," Casey laughed at Evan's comment. "I have to say I'm enjoying being domestic and decorating and learning to cook."

"Hey is that Grandma's recipe book?" Rusty asked, walking over to the kitchen counter.

"Yeah, I figured I could use a little help for Thanksgiving so I had her send it to me," Casey said.

"You two didn't do half bad with the place," Rebecca commented. "Not the best area of D.C. to live in, but definitely not the worst. And this is one of the better apartments I've been in."

"Thanks Bex, I'll take that as a compliment coming from you," Casey said.

"It sure is quite a step up from the Kappa Tau house, Cap," Evan said.

"I can still be a Kappa Tau for life without making Casey suffer with the odors and the messes of the house," Cappie chuckled.

"Sorry to cut this short but we should probably head over to Rebecca's mom's," Evan said.

"She said she's got something important to tell me," Rebecca said. "And she said it's something good. Whenever she said that to me growing up, she was either taking me somewhere or letting me have something I want."

"Then get over there and find out the good news," Casey said. "You guys spending the night there?"

"Yeah," Evan said. "But not to worry, we'll be here in plenty of time for dinner tomorrow."

"Oh, here are my keys," Rusty said, handing Evan his car keys.

"Thanks for letting us use your car," Evan said. "We'll see you guys tomorrow." Evan and Rebecca said goodbye and left the apartment.

"That's a pretty big change from getting hit in the face with a pledge paddle," Cappie said as he went to the fridge to get beers for everyone. "Now you're letting him borrow your car."

"And he even said he'd gas it up for me," Rusty said. "A year ago I probably would have rather slammed my hand in a car door than drove in a car for six hours with Evan Chambers, but the trip down here wasn't bad at all. He was actually the one who suggested we all ride together."

"Wise decision," Casey said. "Because gas prices are terrible."

"We have to go shopping on Friday, Case," Ashleigh said, as she was now leafing through the Black Friday ads from the newspaper. "But I'm not about to be one of those crazy people who's waiting at the doors at 4AM."

"You know I was actually considering doing that," Casey said with a laugh. "Just to hit some of the big sales. But it's probably not worth it to go that early. We'll go early, but not that early."

"I remember this one time I went Black Friday shopping with Mom," Rusty began. "She was trying to get this coffee maker for Dad, and it was the last one of its kind, and some man picked a fight with her over it."

"I remember Mom telling that story when Dad unwrapped the coffee maker," Casey said. Cappie laughed. "What's so funny?"

"I'm just trying to imagine your mom fighting a man over a coffee maker," Cappie said.

"They didn't throw any punches," Rusty said. "But the man said some words I'm sure Mom didn't want me hearing at the age of eight."

"What do you guys say we get some dinner then go for a walk?" Casey asked. "We'll show you the best places D.C. has to offer."

"Yeah that sounds great," Ashleigh said as they got ready to leave. "I haven't been to D.C. since my family came on vacation when I was ten years old."

-GREEK-

"Becca!" Rebecca's mom greeted her with a hug when she and Evan arrived at her house. "It's so good to see you."

"Hi, Mom," Rebecca said.

"And this must be Evan," Rebecca's mom said. "Nice to finally meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Mrs…" Evan began, shaking her hand.

"Please, call me Andrea," Rebecca's mom interrupted. "Come on in, you two. Dinner's just about ready."

"You seem really happy, Mom," Rebecca observed.

"Well the good news I told you I have is a surprise for you," Andrea said, as the three of them sat down at the table. "You remember how I told you that your father's private jet was actually in my name?"

"Yeah," Rebecca said. "I thought he was fighting you in court to get possession of it."

"He was," Andrea said. "But the battle is over, and the jet is now officially mine."

"Wow, go Mom," Rebecca said. "I'm glad you got it, considering all the other stuff he took from you that he shouldn't have during the divorce."

"And my surprise for you is I'd like to give you your graduation present early," Andrea said. "I thought I'd let you and your friends take a trip in the jet. Maybe you'd like to go somewhere for New Years'."

"Are you being serious right now?" Rebecca asked.

"Yeah," Andrea smiled. "You deserve it; you've been working hard, between the sorority, thinking about grad school, and getting through your senior year. And I figured now would be a better time for you and your friends to go somewhere, as opposed to the end of the year when I'm sure some of them will be getting ready to leave."

"Thanks, Mom," Rebecca said. "I'm sure I can find fourteen other people who want to take a trip in a private jet. And I'll start with you, Evan; want to go somewhere that has yet to be determined at the time being?"

"Of course I'll go with you," Evan said. "And thanks Mrs., er sorry, Andrea."

"It's my pleasure," Andrea said. "Now let's eat and think about where you might like to go."

-GREEK-

"Happy turkey day," Kelsey greeted as she walked into the KT house the next day and saw Spidey, Beaver, and Wade cooking in the kitchen, and Katherine was in the dining room getting the tables set.

"Hey," Spidey said, surprised to see her. "I thought you went home yesterday for the weekend."

"I was supposed to," Kelsey said. "But unfortunately, I came down with bronchitis."

"You don't sound sick," Beaver spoke up.

"I wasn't finished," Kelsey said. "I'm not really sick. That was just my alibi so I could stay here for Thanksgiving instead of going home."

"So you didn't want to go home?" Spidey asked.

"No; it's not like I won't be back for Christmas in less than a month," Kelsey said. "So what are you guys doing today?"

"We're having a first grader and her family over for dinner," Spidey said. "It's for the Adopt a Family program at Beaver's school."

"That's nice," Kelsey said. "Heather and a few of the sisters who stayed are volunteering with CRU's Moveable Feast to deliver Thanksgiving dinners to the elderly. I thought about going with them, but if you need some more help here…"

"Sure, you should join us," Spidey said.

"Awesome, I'm just going to run to the bathroom and I'll be right back down," Kelsey said and went upstairs.

"She's so into you, how can you not see it?" Beaver asked once Kelsey was out of earshot.

"No she's not; she has a boyfriend you know," Spidey said.

"Who she faked bronchitis to avoid going home to see," Wade spoke up. "She's here with you on Thanksgiving instead of home with him; what does that say?"

"She didn't want to deal with her family," Spidey said. "They're the ones practically forcing her to stay with this guy. Besides, I kinda made up my mind that things are never going to change and started dating someone else."

"Someone who you're only dating to make Kelsey jealous," Beaver said.

"That's not true," Spidey said. "At least, I didn't think it was. I guess I'm just new to all of this and really don't know what the heck I'm doing."

"You and Spitter are seriously so much alike," Beaver said. "It took us over two years to train him. And something you're both alike about is you're both all about relationships. But take this one from me; you're in college, and casual dating and hookups in college are normal. It took me until my fifth year to call someone my girlfriend; when I knew Katherine was who I wanted to be with."

"So you're saying I shouldn't define things with someone just for the sake of it," Spidey said.

"Uh yeah, that sounds about right," Beaver said.

"Maybe I did make a bit of a mistake there," Spidey sighed.

"A mistake where?" Kelsey asked, walking back into the kitchen.

"Uh, with the turkey," Spidey said quickly. "Turns out the oven should be on 350 degrees, not 400."

"It is on 350," Kelsey observed.

"Yeah, cause I just fixed it," Spidey said. "So, want to help me make the stuffing?"

"It's time for the traditional KT turkey hunt!" a brother said as he entered the kitchen, followed by a few more brothers and pledges.

"I don't understand why we're looking for a turkey when there's one already in the oven," a pledge said.

"Oh, it's not that kind of turkey," Spidey said. "Trust me, you'll like this one."

"Let's abandon this for a bit and join the hunt," Wade said to Beaver.

"I'll start on the stuffing; you guys go do your thing," Kelsey said.

"Okay, so first clue," Spidey began, pulling the slip of paper out of his pocket. "The sorority where the food is hot, and the women are hotter."

"The Tri-Pi house," a brother suggested.

"No, it's gotta be the ZBZ house," Spidey said.

"Their food is pretty good, and their women are hot," Wade said. "Let's go."

-GREEK-

"Yeah, we're not going anywhere anytime soon," Calvin sighed as he woke up and looked out the window of his and Heath's motel room to find that while the snow was letting up, not much cleanup work had been done to the roads.

"Looks like we've gotten over a foot since last night," Heath said, and tried to turn on a light. "And the electricity's out."

"Great," Calvin said sarcastically. "Note to selves in the future: check the weather before we take any trips outside of Cyprus. Want to go see if they've got anything out to eat in the lobby?"

"Sure," Heath said, and they got dressed and made their way to the lobby. It looked like most of the motel's occupants were sitting around at the tables, many of them looking downcast.

"My sister was in labor and I was on my way to see her," Calvin and Heath overheard a woman saying. "I got stuck here for the night, and I got a call at 3AM saying she had the baby. I want to be there so bad; I know most of my family is in the hospital right now."

"I haven't seen my kids since the summer," a man said. "And I really wanted to spend some time with them this weekend; that's where I was going."

"There's got to be a way to get us all out of here," Calvin said to Heath as they each grabbed a bowl of cereal. "Seriously, why is no one plowing the roads?"

"It's Thanksgiving and it's a small town," Heath said. "I guess they figure everyone can make due by staying at home."

"Let's ask the front desk lady," Calvin said, and he and Heath walked over to her.

"Do you happen to have any idea when the roads might be plowed?" Heath asked.

"Knowing this town, I'd say about this time tomorrow," the lady said, half sarcastically. "That's what you get for having a bunch of lazy asses working for the town."

"What if I said we could get ourselves out of here," Calvin said. "The interstate is just up the road."

"I'd say good luck," the lady laughed. "Unless you drove here in a snowplow, I don't see that happening. There's over a foot of snow piled up out there."

"You actually think we can get out of here ourselves?" Heath asked as they stepped away from the front desk.

"Well one thing we've learned from volunteering overseas is to take matters into our own hands," Calvin said.

"So what are we going to do?" Heath asked.

"Follow my lead," Calvin said. He turned to the crowd of people. "So, who wants to get out of here?"

"Uh, we all do, man," a guy spoke up. "But it doesn't look like that's happening anytime soon."

"Does anyone have a pickup truck with a plow on it?" Heath asked.

"I do," a man spoke up. "But it's covered right now and it's not gonna plow through a foot of snow."

"If we all work together we can get out of here today," Calvin said. "Why sit around and wait for the town that's not going to do anything?"

"I have a few shovels here, and I can get you into the general store across the street to get some more," the front desk lady spoke up. "It is Thanksgiving and you should be with your families. Maybe we can clear a path to the interstate by this afternoon if we all work together."

"Well then, I say let's go dig out," Calvin said.

-GREEK-

"A trip for fifteen in a private jet," Ashleigh said excitedly as Rebecca was talking about her mom's gift as they all prepared for Thanksgiving dinner. "I'd say that's a pretty awesome present."

"My mom said it's my graduation present," Rebecca said. "I haven't used the jet since spring break freshman year, mostly because I'd have to go through my father to use it. But now it's my mom's for good, and she and I are okay."

"So where are we all going?" Casey asked.

"Who said anything about 'we all'?" Rebecca asked jokingly.

"What, you have fourteen other friends you were planning on inviting?" Cappie asked, as he was cutting the turkey on the kitchen counter.

"I'm kidding," Rebecca said. "Don't make any plans for New Years', cause we're going to Las Vegas."

"I've always wanted to go there!" Ashleigh said.

"I know," Casey said. "This'll be awesome, Bex."

"It'll be our first New Years' out of Chicago, Case," Rusty said.

"Yeah, and that makes us sound a little lame," Casey laughed. "But seriously how is your mom affording all of this? We should at least help pay for hotel rooms."

"My mom already booked them," Rebecca said. "She's got a really good paying job, and now her money is going to just her and not to my dad's shenanigans."

"I think this belongs to you," Cappie said, handing Casey the wishbone after he set the turkey on the table.

"Cartwright tradition, Russ," Casey said. "Let's do it."

"I could really use some end of semester luck," Rusty said, as he took the other end of the wishbone.

"Looks like you got it," Casey said, after Rusty got the big end of the wishbone. Everyone began filling their plates with food. "Taking the GREs before Christmas, aren't you?"

"Yeah, and I'm glad I've been preparing since summer," Rusty said.

"Ugh, don't remind me about those," Rebecca said.

"At least it's not the LSAT," Evan said. "Compared to the GRE, the LSAT is a lot harder."

"I managed to pull off the GRE decently in about a month's time," Ashleigh said to Rusty. "I know you're going to do great. You too, Bex."

"This all sounds like torture," Cappie said. "I'm glad I didn't put myself through these tests."

"Grad school's not for everyone, as I learned myself," Casey said.

"I didn't think grad school was for me, either," Ashleigh said. "But somehow I'm managing to do surprisingly well."

"Law school wasn't for you, but there are other programs for political science," Evan said. "Did you ever consider going back to school for something like that."

"The only way I would ever go back is if I absolutely needed to in order to get a good promotion or something," Casey said. "Which is what you're doing right now, Ash. But for right now, I'm going to enjoy the fact that I don't have to study or go to classes."

"I'm right there with ya," Cappie said. "One thing I don't miss about college is the whole having to go to class thing. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I'll say I'm thankful that I don't have to study anymore."

"You know what we could do to make this interesting," Casey said. "We could do the cheesy family dinner thing and go around the table saying what we're thankful for."

"Oh please," Rebecca scoffed. "If this is who you're turning into, then we need to get you out more."

"Hey, I get out plenty," Casey said.

"We used to have to do that at Thanksgiving dinner as kids," Rusty said. "You always hated it."

"That's because Mom kept telling me that being thankful for getting a new toy wasn't an acceptable answer," Casey said. "But I've got a lot to be happy about now, as we all do."

"I have to say I'm thankful for a lot more than just not having to study," Cappie said. "I'm thankful for my job and being able to show the current KT generation how to make the most of their time there. And for all of my CRU friends and the time we have to hang out. And most of all I'm thankful to be living here with the best girlfriend I could ask for."

"Aw, well to go along with Cap there, I'm thankful to be living in D.C. with the best boyfriend I could ask for," Casey said, smiling at Cappie. "And for finally being able to get on the right career path within the past year, and for having my best friends here today to eat food and catch up. I really could go on, but…"

"Don't," Rebecca interrupted. "I'll go before I decide I can't take anymore sentimental talk. I'm thankful ZBZ is staying on top and I impressed Nationals last month. And for this awesome trip we're going on, and for my friends, sisters, and Evan for putting up with me."

"I'll say I'm really thankful you put up with me," Evan said with a chuckle. "And I'm thankful I decided on graduating early, that I've got a TA job that pays decently, and that I know who my real friends are now after everything I went through with my parents."

"I'm thankful that things at KT are going extremely well," Rusty said. "And that this is the best part of my life so far and probably always will be. I've got great grades, the best family, friends, and brothers in the world, and the most amazing girlfriend a guy could ask for. There's nothing more I could ask for right now."

"What about passing the GRE?" Cappie spoke up.

"Well yeah, there is that," Rusty said. "I'll be even more thankful when that happens."

"I'm thankful I decided to go to grad school to make my career better," Ashleigh said. "And that I've been able to manage going to school, working, and having a social life without completely failing at one of them. And for still being able to stay close with my best friend even though she's living here and I'm in Cyprus, and for finding an amazing guy that I couldn't be happier I'm with." She smiled over at Rusty.

"That was great you guys," Casey smiled.

"So can we take the cheese factor back down now?" Evan joked.

"Yeah we can," Casey laughed. "Anybody want more food?"

"I'm stuffed," Cappie said. "But it was delicious, Case." Everyone agreed.

"I'm glad you all think so," Casey said. "Cause we'll be eating leftovers for the rest of the weekend."

"Let's turn on the game," Cappie said as everyone began getting up from the table.

"Yeah, I could watch a little football," Evan said. "Then Rebecca and I are going back to her mom's for the night. Some more of her relatives will be over later."

"Anyone going to help me clean up in here?" Casey asked as she noticed everyone beginning to head toward the living room. "Or else you're not getting dessert."

"That's what Mom always said," Rusty said as he started clearing the table; the others following suit.

"I know, and it scares me whenever I make a Mom comment," Casey said. "I am not turning into Mom yet; no way, I'm too young for that."

-GREEK-

"They seem like really nice people," Spidey said to Kelsey as they were cleaning up in the KT kitchen, referring to the family they'd just eaten dinner with.

"Yeah they are and it was great doing this for them," Kelsey said. "But why are we the only ones cleaning up here?"

"Everyone else went straight to the living room to watch the football game," Spidey said. "So why did you stay here for Thanksgiving instead of going home?"

"For one I knew I'd have more fun staying here than going home," Kelsey said. "And I knew if I went home then there'd just be another argument between me and my family about my life here."

"But what happens at Christmas, then?" Spidey asked.

"I'll worry about that at Christmas," Kelsey said. "Now that we're done cleaning up, what do you say we go down to the campus bakery and get some pumpkin pie? The one Katherine made kinda got eaten by accident earlier by some of your brothers."

"That's a normal thing here; the guys think everything in the fridge is fair game, and it usually is," Spidey said. "I didn't think the bakery would be open today."

"Yeah, one of my sisters said it is and she said they have the best pie on Thanksgiving," Kelsey said.

"Great, then let's go," Spidey said, and they left the house.

"So you asked me why I stayed here for Thanksgiving," Kelsey said. "Now let me ask you, why did you stay here instead of going home with your girlfriend or something?"

"Maybe I made a mistake of defining her as my girlfriend," Spidey said. "I had the opportunity for a relationship and I took it because I wanted to, but the reality is that it wasn't meant to be that."

"I know I'm probably sounding like a broken record with all of this back and forth crap with my family and Robert," Kelsey said. "But there's something else I want you to know. Because of you and because of our friendship, I'm beginning to realize how much I want to make a real change in my life. I thought coming to CRU was going to be my change, but then everything from home and the past followed me here. I thought more about that night when we were all at the restaurant with Robert, and your little argument in the bathroom. No one's ever stood up for me like that, especially not to him."

"I stood up to him because I know you deserve better," Spidey said. "So are you saying you want to break up with Robert, for good?"

"At this point I'm not sure," Kelsey said. "I guess I'll see how things go at Christmas. But I just wanted to tell you on Thanksgiving that I'm thankful to have a friend like you."

"I'm thankful to have a friend like you, too," Spidey said. "And I'm glad you stayed here this weekend."

-GREEK-

"Spitter, Ashleigh, wake up," Cappie said, shaking them awake bright and early, well more like _dark_ and early, the next morning. Rusty slowly woke up, but Ashleigh just turned over and continued to sleep.

"Cap, it's 4:07 in the morning," Rusty said, slightly irritated as he sat up on the futon and looked at his cell. "I think you're old enough by now to entertain yourself when you can't sleep."

"I need to do something really important, and I want you guys to come with me," Cappie said.

"Can't it wait until, I don't know, when there's actually a sun in the sky?" Rusty asked.

"I thought you were more of a morning person than this," Cappie said. "With all your early classes."

"Morning to me is like 7 or 8," Rusty said.

"Well I found out that if I'm at the jewelry store between 5 and 6 AM, I can save a thousand dollars with today being Black Friday," Cappie said.

"Oh wow," Rusty said, more awake when it clicked. "You're going to ask Casey to…"

"Yeah," Cappie interrupted.

"What's going on?" Ashleigh asked sleepily, finally waking up to hearing Cappie and Rusty.

"We're going shopping," Rusty said, getting up. "Trust me, it's important."

"I'm supposed to go with Casey when it's actually daylight out," Ashleigh said.

"We'll be back in a couple hours," Cappie said. "Plus this is something I could really use a female opinion on."

"We're going to the jewelry store," Rusty said.

"Oh wow, I know what this is about now," Ashleigh said excitedly as she hopped out of bed.

"We'll go to the café and get some coffee and breakfast first so that we're fully awake," Cappie said. After they were dressed, they headed to a small café that was near the apartment.

"My treat, since I dragged you out of bed so early," Cappie said, as he paid for their coffees and food.

"I can't believe this is really happening," Rusty smiled as they sat down at a table.

"I just knew that after your surprise for your anniversary that you were thinking about proposing," Ashleigh smiled. "So how are you going to ask her?"

"Yeah, what's Cappie's master plan for asking my sister to marry him?" Rusty asked eagerly.

"Honestly, I'm not sure I have one just yet," Cappie said. "I thought we'd start with buying a ring this morning, and then I'd have at least one thing taken care of."

"Buying a ring is only the first step," Ashleigh said. "Casey's watched a million rom-coms in her life, and you have to give her a movie-worthy proposal."

"I know I'll come up with the perfect plan when the time is right," Cappie said. "I still have to talk to her dad, and that'll be at Christmas, so I've got a little time to think about what to do."

"That's good that's in your plan," Rusty said. "Because my dad's the type who would be pretty upset if you didn't talk to him first." Just then Cappie's phone rang and he saw it was Casey.

"It's Case," Cappie said. "I left her a note in the kitchen telling her we went out and not to worry, but I didn't think she'd be up." Cappie answered the phone. "Hey Case, what are you doing up so early?"

"I should be asking you the same," Casey said. "I got up to go to the bathroom and noticed everyone was gone. Where are you guys?"

"I left you a note in the kitchen," Cappie said. "We were all awake and decided to go out early and get some shopping done, and I didn't want to wake you."

"I thought Ash and I were going later on," Casey said.

"Here, let me see the phone a minute," Ashleigh said, hearing what Casey said on the other end. "The thing is, Case, I can't really get your Christmas present when you're with me. So I thought I'd go with Rusty and Cappie now, and you and I can still go in a few hours."

"Aw, you didn't have to go out this early just to get my present," Casey said. "But you guys have fun; I'm going back to bed. Wake me up if I'm not up when you're back."

"Okay, will do, bye," Ashleigh said and handed the phone back to Cappie.

"Bye Case, we'll be back as soon as we can, love you," Cappie said and he and Casey hung up.

"It's a wonder we made it out of the apartment this morning without her waking up," Rusty said. "She's not a very heavy sleeper."

"I know; I purposely put my cell on vibrate in the pocket of my PJs just so the alarm wouldn't wake her up," Cappie said. "It's almost five; we should get over to the store."

"Does anyone else know you're planning to ask her besides us?" Rusty asked as they left the café.

"Evan's the only other person I've told," Cappie said. "Let's just keep this shopping trip between us; don't tell anyone else back at CRU yet."

"We won't say anything, but it's not like people aren't expecting that you'll get married," Ashleigh said. "I'm already excited for your wedding and you haven't even officially proposed yet!"

-GREEK-

"That was a nice weekend with your family," Heath said to Calvin as they were driving back to Cyprus on Sunday.

"Yeah, they really love you and they love what we're going to do," Calvin said.

"Yeah, making a difference the world, which includes getting ourselves and other motel guests unstuck from snowstorms along the way," Heath said.

"It's the things we're doing now that will help us get on a great project for next year," Calvin said. "Remember we've got that meeting over Christmas break."

"Yeah, by New Years' we'll know what we'll be doing after you graduate," Heath said. "Hey, there's that town again; we should stop back by."

"Yeah, let's," Calvin said as he got off at the exit. "We can get something to eat at the motel restaurant." They arrived back at the motel and saw the same front desk lady that was working on Thanksgiving.

"Back again?" she asked them. "This time, I'm pretty sure there's no snow in the forecast."

"We just thought we'd stop back by and grab a bite to eat," Calvin said.

"I see the roads finally got cleared," Heath said.

"It wasn't until evening time on Thanksgiving," the lady said. "You know that was really great what you did; getting everyone together to help clear out. It may have cost the motel some business, but I thought it was more important for you all to go see your families."

"We saw there were people here who needed to get home more than we did," Calvin said. "When we see a problem, we take matters into our own hands; it's all about making a difference."

"That's an excellent way to be," the lady said. "I'm thankful for people like you; the world needs more of them."

-GREEK-

"I'm so glad you guys came," Casey said happily as Rusty, Ashleigh, Evan, and Rebecca were getting ready to head back to Cyprus.

"It was a lot of fun," Ashleigh said. "I can't wait for Christmas."

"Yeah, how do you guys think this 'bonding' thing is going to work out with our parents?" Cappie asked.

"It should be pretty interesting, to say the least," Rusty said.

"Wait, what 'bonding' thing?" Rebecca asked.

"My parents got on this kick about how they want to 'bond' more with Cappie's and Ashleigh's parents," Casey said. "So they're all coming to Chicago for a few days."

"Well Rebecca and I might be bonding with my parents this Christmas," Evan said.

"Really, you're going to see them?" Cappie asked.

"I told them I'd consider going home every other Christmas, so I thought I'd give it a try this year," Evan said.

"Good for you," Casey said. "Well guys, tell everyone we said hi and we'll be up in a few weeks." Everyone said goodbye and Rusty, Ashleigh, Evan, and Rebecca drove off back to Cyprus.

"Can you believe it's almost Christmas already?" Cappie asked.

"I know," Casey said. "And to think it's been almost a year since you graduated."

"And since everything happened with KT," Cappie said. "I've gotta say, I hope there's no more end of semester mayhem at CRU like there's been the past three years."

"Yeah, maybe the CRU Greek system can actually do the normal, fun Christmas stuff like we did our first two years," Casey said. "Hey, what do you say we go finish off the Thanksgiving leftovers for lunch?"

"Sounds good to me," Cappie said and they headed back into the apartment.

A/N: I'm hoping to make it to chapter 10 of this before summer's over for me, which is in two weeks. I'm still going to continue once school starts again (of course I'm not finished with this until Rusty, Dale, Calvin, and Rebecca graduate! :D) Chapter 10 will be the end of the first half of the story.

The Vegas trip that was mentioned will be pretty important! :) That'll be chapter 10. And preview for next chapter: a year has passed since the events of the series finale occurred, and what happens at Christmastime at CRU when there's not end-of-semester trouble.


	9. I'm Dreaming of a Greek Christmas

Episode #9: I'm Dreaming of a Greek Christmas

Setting: End of the semester, just before Christmas break.

Synopsis: After three years of end-of-semester mayhem around Christmastime, Christmas celebrations return to CRU.

-GREEK-

"As pledge class president, my pledge brothers and I are proud to present to you," Pledge Alfred Hitchcock began, as he and the pledge class stood in front of a large cardboard divider in the living room, facing the brothers of Kappa Tau. A few of the pledges removed the cardboard and he continued. "The Kappa Tau Christmas Tree!" All of the brothers cheered when the pledges revealed the tree.

"Now that's what I call a KT Christmas tree," Rusty said. The tree was made entirely out of beer bottles with lights on it. (A/N: I posted a picture of what it might look like on my profile) "Nice work, pledges."

"So this is why you guys saved all the beer bottles from the last party," Dump Truck said.

"Yeah, at first we were going to go chop down an actual tree from somewhere," Pledge Barney said.

"But we thought this would be even more KT than that," Pledge Curly said.

"After a full semester of pledging, you guys are really coming along," Rusty said to the pledges. He got up from where he was sitting and faced the brothers and pledges. "Did you know that there haven't been any Christmas events at CRU in four years? Since before I was even here."

"Cause so much shit's gone down at the end of fall semester the past three years," Pickle added.

"Yeah, the administration cancelled all holiday events for the past three years because of stuff that happened," Rusty began. "Three years ago there was an exposé article on the Greek system. Two years ago it was the prank with us and Omega Chi that got three of our brothers expelled. And last year was everything with our old house getting torn down. But this year each house will be having an end-of-semester holiday-themed event."

"Which for KT could mean a Christmas party with red and green Jell-O shots," Anthony Hopkins said.

"Something like that," Rusty said. "Then there's the Christmas talent show on Friday, which is pretty much just like any other talent show, only Christmas themed. And also there's the CRU Christmas parade. Spidey's got the news on that from IFC." Rusty motioned for him to speak.

"Up until four years ago CRU had an annual Christmas parade that counted for blue ribbon points for all the Greek houses," Spidey said. "This year it's coming back and each house is building its own float. So who's got any ideas?"

"Why don't we just dress the pledges up as elves, make someone Santa Claus and call it a day?" a brother asked.

"I think we can do better than that," Rusty said. "We'll come up with a float idea later. Right now, I've got a lot of studying to do, as should any of you who still have finals to take. Meeting adjourned."

"So when's the big test?" Spidey asked Rusty after the meeting.

"In three days," Rusty said. "And I've still got a lot of studying to do between now and then, and since you're done with finals I was hoping you might be able to take the ropes with this Christmas parade."

"I'll totally do it," Spidey said. "Consider me Christmas parade chair. Now go study so you can ace the GRE."

-GREEK-

"Hey Bex, I think we have the perfect idea for the ZBZ float," Ashleigh said as she and Kelsey walked into ZBZ and saw Rebecca.

"Is it better than dressing the pledges up as elves?" Rebecca asked. "That's what Omega Chi is doing."

"Yeah I'm pretty sure it is," Kelsey said with a laugh. "What about a Christmas fashion show?"

"Clarissa signed this new clothing design company on as a client today," Ashleigh began. "And I was assigned to help market their new line of winter fashions. See, here's some of their clothes." Ashleigh handed her a small brochure with some of the company's new fashions.

"Hmm, not bad at all," Rebecca said as she looked through it. She turned to some of the sisters that were nearby. "Hey girls, wanna do a fashion show for our float?"

"Uh, yeah that would rule," Heather said, and the others agreed.

"Awesome, we'll do it," Rebecca said. "And Ash, I'm putting you in charge of the float. Help the sisters make the scenery look as good as we will. I'm booked solid for the next three days. Now I've gotta help Calvin finish up some stuff for the ZBZ-Omega Chi Secret Santa, then I've got another GRE prep class tonight."

"Shouldn't you put one of the sisters in charge?" Ashleigh asked.

"I'm sure if you told your boss this is your way to help market your new client, you'd get paid for this," Rebecca said. "Plus, you're an alum who's in the running for Alumna of the Year, if I'm not mistaken."

"Okay, yeah it'll be fun," Ashleigh said. "And I have missed Christmas at ZBZ. Thanks to the administration cancelling the events for the past three years."

"Great, and Kelsey, you help her," Rebecca said. "It's your project, too. Anyway, I'm off."

"So we've got a float to start planning," Kelsey said to Ashleigh once Rebecca left. "But first, you want to swing by KT? I really want to see this beer bottle Christmas tree."

"You go ahead; I know Rusty's really busy studying now," Ashleigh said. "I'll get started and see what ideas some of the sisters have."

"Okay, I'll be back to help soon," Kelsey said and left the house.

-GREEK-

"The downside to not living in Cyprus anymore," Cappie said to Casey as he entered their apartment. "It actually snows in the winter."

"You must have had snow growing up," Casey said.

"Yeah I did," Cappie said. "But I kinda got used to the weather never changing in Cyprus for four and a half years and I haven't yet come to enjoy the snow again."

"Traveling in it does stink," Casey said. "And having to clean off our cars."

"Oh, I see we have a Christmas tree now," Cappie observed, seeing a small tree set up in the living room."

"I just decorated it tonight when I got home from work," Casey said. "What do you think?"

"It looks really nice," Cappie said. "Rusty texted me a picture of the Christmas tree the pledges set up. Check it out."

"Are those beer bottles?" Casey asked, looking at the picture on Cappie's phone.

"Yep, that's pretty KT if you ask me," Cappie said. "When I was a pledge, my pledge class went and chopped down a tree from campus during the night. Then we painted beer cans to use as ornaments."

"When I was a ZBZ pledge I was climbing on ladders to put Christmas lights up on the outside of the house," Casey said.

"You know those lights that were always on the old KT house?" Cappie asked. "My pledge class put them up, and then after Christmas Egyptian Joe decided he didn't want them taken down, and they were there ever since."

"I really wish we could go up to CRU this weekend," Casey said. "I miss Christmastime there. But being in the real world means we've got responsibilities before we can go on Christmas vacation."

"I know; I've got some end-of-semester work to do at the regional office," Cappie said. "And you've got to help out with some things at work and we've got to go to the tree lighting at the Capitol on Friday. But soon enough we'll be on vacation for two weeks for a fun-filled Christmas."

"And then the trip to Las Vegas," Casey said.

"And let me tell you; that's going to be a trip you'll never forget," Cappie said.

"Why's that?" Casey asked.

"Oh, I can't tell you now," Cappie said with a smile. "But you're going to like it."

-GREEK-

"Who's hungry?" Calvin asked as he entered Rusty's room with a pizza box, where Rusty and Dale were studying.

"Well according to my study schedule, I guess we are due for a meal break," Dale said.

"You made a study schedule again?" Calvin asked.

"The GRE is more than just a midterm, or even a final," Dale said. "It's going to be the most important day of our lives so far."

"You said you thought that about the SAT when you took it," Rusty said. "And I think we're doing fine. Thanks for bringing the pizza, Calvin."

"No problem," Calvin said as they each grabbed a slice. "And I wanted to make sure you guys weren't killing yourselves over here."

"This may be an important test, but I don't think it's enough to warrant suicide," Dale said.

"Now I know what Casey felt like taking the LSAT," Rusty said.

"You're both going to get into good grad schools and you know it," Calvin said. "Russ I saw some of your guys downstairs talking about the Christmas parade float."

"Yeah, Spidey's handling it for the next few days," Rusty said. "So what's Omega Chi doing?"

"You're funny if you think we're going to reveal our secrets," Dale laughed.

"Oh please, Dale, you haven't been around the house much this week to even know what our float's going to be," Calvin said. "We're doing Santa's Workshop and we're dressing our pledges up as elves."

"You know if you need someone to be Santa Claus, I'd totally do it," Dale said. "I did work as Santa at the mall one Christmas."

"Really, you worked as Santa?" Rusty asked surprised.

"It's a long story," Dale said. "I may or may not have been coerced into doing it. But anyway, I was rather good at it."

"Well you are pledge educator so I guess it makes sense," Calvin said. "Hey don't forget we have to get everyone together before Friday to practice our skit, too."

"Oh yeah, for the Christmas talent show," Rusty said. "Why exactly did we sign up to do this?"

"Cause we're seniors, and it's our last, and our first, real Christmas at CRU," Calvin said. "And somehow we managed to drag some of our friends in on it, too."

"It'll be a lot better than the whole campus seeing us almost naked," Dale said.

"True that," Calvin said. "So Dale, Rebecca tells me you and Laura are on board for the Vegas trip."

"Yeah, we decided to come to Sin City with you guys after all," Dale said. "So who all else is going on this little adventure of sin, anyway?"

"I heard that Heath let it slip to Beaver and Wade that he was coming, and then they begged Rebecca for an invite," Rusty said.

"Yeah, Rebecca gave in and let them come," Calvin said. "And Katherine, too. Heath's sister Heather would have come, but she's already going somewhere with her high school friends for New Years'. But it should definitely be an interesting trip."

-GREEK-

"Wow, I've gotta say that's pretty good," Kelsey said as she entered the KT house and saw the Christmas tree.

"Our pledges know what they're doing," Spidey said. "So what's up?"

"Ashleigh and I just came up with a great idea for ZBZ's float," Kelsey said. "Clarissa signed a clothing design company on as a client today, so we're doing a Christmas fashion show to help market their new line of clothes. We've just got to decorate a float that'll look as good as we will. What about KT; how's your float coming along?"

"Well we've got one now," Spidey said. "But if we tell anyone outside of KT our idea, it's not going to work. So you're just going to have to wait until the parade and see."

"I can't wait to see what kind of crazy scheme you KTs have come up with this time," Kelsey said. "Anyway, I wanted to ask you something. How would you like to come to Vegas with me for New Years'?"

"Vegas, as in Rebecca's trip?" Spidey asked.

"That's the one," Kelsey said. "I wasn't sure if I should go at first, but then I thought why the heck shouldn't I? It's going to be so much fun. Plus my parents and Robert's parents are going away together for New Years, which makes getting out of the house really easy. So what do you say?"

"Yeah, I'll definitely come," Spidey said. "What's Robert going to say about you going to Vegas for New Years', though?"

"I'll just tell him I made plans with friends, which is the truth," Kelsey said. "He's got his own friends to do something with. And hey, you know what they say, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas."

"What do you think is going to happen, other than everyone getting really drunk?" Spidey asked.

"I don't know; we'll just have to wait and see I guess," Kelsey said.

-GREEK-

"Okay, clearly these girls were deprived as children," Laura said, approaching Rebecca and Ashleigh as the sisters of ZBZ were working on decorations for the float. "They can't even make decent paper snowflakes. Look at these; they're terrible." Before they could respond, the doorbell rang.

"Could you get that?" Rebecca asked Ashleigh. Ashleigh opened the door to find someone dressed in a full Santa Claus suit, complete with a beard, who was carrying a sack of something on his back.

"Hi, uh, Santa?" Ashleigh said.

"Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas, Ashleigh," Santa said, talking in a deep voice.

"How do you know my name?" Ashleigh asked.

"Uh, well you are on my nice list," Santa said. "My elves at the North Pole have been very busy making presents, and I'm here to deliver some to the Zeta Beta Zeta sorority."

"Really, I'm not five years old here," Ashleigh said.

"Okay, that was just a joke," Santa said, now talking in a normal voice. "Truth is, I was assigned by IFC and Pan-Hellenic to deliver gifts to all the houses."

"Oh, okay well in that case the Christmas tree is in the living room," Ashleigh said, letting Santa in the house.

"Thanks, and good day," Santa said and headed for the living room, while Ashleigh returned to the dining room and the sisters.

"The decorations are coming along great," Kelsey said to Ashleigh. "Laura's teaching some girls how to make proper snowflakes. But one thing we're still missing is a truck, which we need before we can start actually building the float."

"Yeah, Rusty told me a place where we can rent a flat bed," Ashleigh said. "Want to come with me to get it?"

"Sure," Kelsey said.

"Who wants some low-carb Christmas cookies?" Rachel asked as she and a few other pledges walked into the dining room, each carrying a tray of cookies.

"But not before we get ourselves a snack," Kelsey said as she and Ashleigh joined the group of sisters now crowding around the cookies.

"Hey, I think we might be missing some stuff in here," Abby called from the living room, where she and some of the girls were gathered eating cookies. "Like all the presents under our tree, and some of the decorations."

"Where did that Santa Claus guy go?" Heather spoke up. "He's gone but I never even saw him walk out the front door."

"Sorry, he said he was from IFC and Pan-Hellenic and was here to deliver presents," Ashleigh said. "I didn't think he sounded like a thief."

"You know, come to think of it, some of our Christmas lights were stolen from outside overnight," Rebecca said, joining the group.

"I heard Omega Chi had some stuff stolen, too," Laura said. "It looks like we've got a Grinch on our hands."

"So that means we're no longer trusting anyone in a Santa Claus costume," Rebecca said.

-GREEK-

"Rusty?" Ashleigh asked, pleasantly surprised to see him when she got back to her apartment later that night. "Taking a study break?"

"Something like that," Rusty smiled and walked over to her. "I made us dinner. We've been dating for exactly a year today, and I know it's not much, but I promise you something a lot better once things settle down."

"This is sweet," Ashleigh smiled. "I know we've both got a lot going on this week, and just spending some time together tonight is more than enough for me." She kissed him and he led her over to the counter for dinner.

"How are things at ZBZ?" Rusty asked as they sat down.

"The float is turning out great so far," Ashleigh said. "But the weirdest thing happened earlier. This guy in a Santa suit came to the house; he said he was sent by IFC and Pan-Hellenic to all of the houses. But after he left we noticed that all the presents under the tree were gone, along with some of the decorations. And some Christmas lights from outside were stolen last night, and Calvin said some decorations and presents were taken from Omega Chi."

"Wow, now that's just odd," Rusty said. "Isn't Santa supposed to deliver presents, not steal them?"

"Okay, we've been dating for a year and I can tell by now when you're hiding something," Ashleigh said. "What do you know about this?"

"Okay," Rusty laughed. "I'll tell you, but no one else outside of KT can know, or else our plan's not going to work. We're doing 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas' for our parade float. The Santa that went to ZBZ was one of the pledges. The pledges have been going around to all the houses the past few days, and other places on campus too, taking Christmas decorations for us to use for our float."

"And you're authorizing this?" Ashleigh asked.

"Well you know how the Grinch ends," Rusty said. "His heart grows three sizes and Christmas is returned to Whoville. We're returning everything after the parade. It's all in good fun, and it lets us do something KTs are good at, which is scheming."

"That's actually a really good idea," Ashleigh said with a chuckle. "You guys carry on with your plan and I won't be alarmed if any more Christmas decorations turn up missing."

"By the day of the parade, the whole campus is going to be wondering what's happening and why so much stuff has gone missing," Rusty said.

"And then you guys will come with your float and all questions will be answered," Ashleigh said. "You ready for your big day tomorrow?"

"I'm as ready to take the GRE as I'm ever going to be, I think," Rusty said. "I'm just ready to get it over with tomorrow afternoon. But I'm not worrying about it tonight; tonight it's all about you and me."

"Mmm, I like the sound of that," Ashleigh smiled as he leaned across the counter and kissed her.

-GREEK-

"Wow guys, looks like you've got a lot of stuff already," Rusty said, entering the KT house the next evening to see the living room looking like Christmas had exploded all over it.

"Yeah, the pledges have been all over campus," Dump Truck said. "And people are starting to get suspicious."

"We want people to notice something's up; we just don't want them to suspect us," Rusty said.

"So you finished with that evil test?" Anthony Hopkins asked.

"It's over and done with and I feel great about it," Rusty said happily. "What do you guys say we take this stuff and start building the float?"

"Let's turn this stuff into treasure," Pledge Moe said.

"Be right back," Rusty said and went upstairs to his room. He decided to go out on the roof to get some air, and opened his window and climbed out.

"Hey," he was startled when he heard a voice coming from on the roof. He turned around and saw Spidey sitting. "Sorry, I guess I shouldn't startle a guy on a roof."

"Hey, what are you doing up here?" Rusty asked, sitting down.

"You can see the Christmas lights all over Cyprus from up here," Spidey said. "Parts of the campus look pretty dark, though, thanks to us."

"Yeah, that was a really great idea and the guys love it," Rusty said. "But I can tell you're not up here just to look at Christmas lights. What's going on?"

"I got a phone call from my dad today," Spidey said. "He says he's been in New York for most of the past ten months starting a new branch office of his business. That was the first time I talked to him since everything happened last year with KT and then the divorce. Then he says he's moving to New York officially the first of the year to work in that office, and he wants to see me for Christmas. All I could think about is I better warn whatever KT chapter he's messing with over there."

"Have you thought about forgiving your dad at all?" Rusty asked. "Everything that happened to us with the house seemed like the worst thing in the world at the time, but it's been a year. We all made the best of it, and we're doing better than ever now."

"But I still can't get over how he betrayed me like that," Spidey said. "And how he betrayed all of us. And for all I know his 'wanting to see me' could just mean 'come home and get the rest of my stuff out of the house so he can sell it'."

"It wasn't right what he did to us," Rusty said. "But maybe he's realized what a mistake he made and learned from it. I'm sure that wanting you to move your stuff out isn't the reason he wants to see you. Maybe you're not ready to forgive him yet, but what about starting to talk to him again; just hearing what he has to say. He's your dad and he's the only one you've got; I'd hate to see you lose out on trying to make things right with him again."

"I know I'm not ready to forgive him, but maybe hearing him out wouldn't be such a bad idea," Spidey said. "My mom and I have gotten on a lot better terms since parents' weekend last semester, and I already told her that I'd come to North Carolina for Christmas; she just bought her own place there last month. But I'll tell my dad I'll come back up a few days after Christmas and hear what he has to say."

"Four big mud tires, three shotgun shells, two huntin' dogs, and some parts to a Mustang GT!" they suddenly heard a chorus coming from the backyard.

"They're singing the Redneck 12 Days of Christmas," Rusty laughed, as they saw some of the brothers and pledges walk out the back door with Christmas decorations to start on the float.

"Let's go join them and build this float," Spidey said. "Thanks for listening."

"Anytime, little bro," Rusty smiled and they went back inside through the window.

-GREEK-

"Welcome to CRU's Christmas Talent Show and the official kickoff to Christmas Celebration Weekend at CRU!" the Pan-Hellenic president announced the next afternoon. "I know we've got some fun acts here today, and we'll start out with a group doing a skit of 'The 12 Pains of Christmas'."

(A/N: For anyone who hasn't heard of this, it's a real Christmas song that's a parody of 'The 12 Days of Christmas; I don't own it. YouTube it and there's a few funny videos of it. I made the skit mostly dialogue so you can imagine how the characters would act and what they would do saying these lines; I got some laughs out of it and I hope you do too! :))

"You guys ready?" Ashleigh asked everyone.

"Ready as we'll ever be," Calvin said and the group started to take the stage.

"I still think you should have done this with us," Rebecca said to Evan before she went on stage.

"I think I'm fine being the videographer for this," Evan said with a laugh, kissing her before she joined her friends on stage. Evan gave her a thumbs up, telling her he started the camera.

"The first thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me is finding a Christmas tree," the entire group sang. "The second thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me…"

"Rigging up the lights," Dale sang, fumbling with a tangled string of lights.

"And finding a Christmas tree," everyone sang. "The third thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me…"

"Ugh, hangovers," Beaver said, holding a beer bottle and leaning over the table set up on stage.

"Rigging up the lights," Dale sang.

"And finding a Christmas tree," everyone sang. "The fourth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me…"

"Sending Christmas cards," Rusty sang, sitting down at the table and pretending to write out cards.

"Hangovers!" Beaver said.

"Rigging up the lights," Dale sang.

"And finding a Christmas tree," everyone sang. "The fifth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me. Five months of bills!"

"Sending Christmas cards," Rusty sang.

"Hangovers!" Beaver said.

"Rigging up the lights," Dale sang.

"And finding a Christmas tree," everyone sang. "The sixth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me…"

"Facing my in-laws," Ashleigh sang.

"Five months of bills!" everyone sang.

"Oh, I hate these Christmas cards!" Rusty shouted.

"Hangovers!" Beaver said.

"Rigging up the lights," Dale sang.

"And finding a Christmas tree," everyone sang. "The seventh thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me…"

"The Salvation Army," Spidey sang, ringing a bell imitating a Salvation Army bell ringer.

"Facing my in-laws," Ashleigh sang.

"Five months of bills!" everyone sang.

"Sending Christmas cards," Rusty sang.

"Oh, geez!" Beaver sighed.

"I'm trying to rig up these lights!" Dale shouted, still fumbling with the string of lights.

"And finding a Christmas tree," everyone sang. "The eighth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me…"

"I WANNA TRANSFORMER FOR CHRISTMAS!" Katherine wailed, imitating a little kid.

"Charities," Spidey sighed.

"And whataya mean "YOUR in-laws"?" Ashleigh screamed.

"Five months of bills!" everyone sang.

"Oh, making out these cards," Rusty said exasperated.

"Honey, get me a beer, huh?" Beaver said.

"What, we have no extension cords?" Dale exclaimed.

"And finding a Christmas tree," everyone sang. "The ninth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me…"

"Finding parking spaces," Calvin and Heath sang.

"DADDY, I WANT SOME CANDY!" Katherine whined.

"Donations!" Spidey shouted.

"Facing my in-laws," Ashleigh sang.

"Five months of bills," everyone sang.

"Writing out those Christmas cards," Rusty said.

"Hangovers!" Beaver said.

"Now why the hell are they blinking?" Dale shouted, after plugging the lights into the stage outlet.

"And finding a Christmas tree," everyone sang. "The tenth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me…"

"'Batteries Not Included'," Kelsey sang, holding up a few Christmas toys.

"No parking spaces," Calvin and Heath sang.

"BUY ME SOMETHIN'!" Katherine exclaimed.

"Get a job, ya bum!" Spidey demanded.

"Oh, facing my in-laws!" Ashleigh sang, frustrated.

"Five months of bills," everyone sang.

"Yo-ho, sending Christmas cards," Rusty sang.

"Oh, geez, look at this!" Beaver said.

"One light goes out, they ALL go out!" Dale screamed annoyed, ripping the lights out of the outlet.

"And finding a Christmas tree," everyone sang. "The eleventh thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me…"

"Stale TV specials," Wade sang, imitating a television advertiser.

"'Batteries Not Included'," Kelsey sang.

"No parking spaces," Calvin and Heath sang.

"DAD, I GOTTA GO TO THE BATHROOM!" Katherine shouted.

"Charities!" Spidey said.

"She's a witch, I hate her!" Ashleigh exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air.

"Five months of bills," everyone sang.

"Oh, I don't even KNOW half these people!" Rusty exclaimed, looking through his stack of Christmas cards.

"Oh, who's got the toilet paper, huh?" Beaver said, pretending to look like he was going to throw up.

"Get a flashlight...I blew a fuse!" Dale said.

"And finding a Christmas tree," everyone sang. "The twelfth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me…"

"Singing Christmas carols," Rebecca and Laura sang.

"Stale TV specials," Wade sang.

"'Batteries Not Included'," Kelsey sang.

"No parking?" Calvin and Heath exclaimed, looking around frantically.

"WAAAAAAAAAAH! WAAAAAAAAAAH!" Katherine wailed.

"Charities!" Spidey shouted.

"Gotta make 'em dinner!" Ashleigh complained.

"Five months of bills!" everyone sang.

"I'm not sendin' them this year, that's it!" Rusty shouted, flinging his stack of cards across the stage.

"Shut up, you!" Beaver hollered.

"FINE! YOU'RE SO SMART, YOU RIG UP THE LIGHTS!" Dale shouted and threw the string of lights across the stage.

"And finding a Christmas tree," they all sang and finished the song. Loud applause and cheering was heard from the crowd when they finished.

"That was awesome you guys!" Ashleigh said once they all went offstage. "And I really felt like my aunt who can't stand my uncle's parents."

"But in no way did I ever act like that as a child," Katherine said about her performance. "My mother said I was a well-behaved child."

"And I can honestly say I've never gotten that worked up over Christmas cards," Rusty said.

"I was actually a Salvation Army bell ringer once for community service in high school," Spidey said.

"And I'm the best person in my family at putting up Christmas lights," Dale said.

"How about we go find seats and watch the rest of the show," Calvin said, as they heard the next act about to begin.

-GREEK-

"What in the world are you watching?" Casey asked with a chuckle, entering the apartment and seeing Cappie laughing hysterically over something on the computer.

"Evan posted the video on his Facebook from the talent show today," Cappie said. "You've gotta see it."

"I'll watch it later," Casey said. "Remember we're going to the Christmas tree lighting at the Capitol tonight?"

"Oh yeah, I'm ready," Cappie said, turning off the computer. "I was just waiting for you."

"Do you want to walk?" Casey asked. "It's a nice night and I thought we'd look at the Christmas lights around D.C."

"Yeah, that's good with me," Cappie said and they left the apartment and started walking around D.C.

"So you ready to go Christmas shopping tomorrow?" Casey asked.

"Honestly, I'm ready to get it over with," Cappie said with a laugh. "Is it just me or does it seem like we've got way too many people to buy for? Between both our families, our friends, neighbors, co-workers. I'm beginning to understand why grown-ups get so burned out about Christmas."

"I know; some people I just don't know what to get for, or even if I should get them something," Casey said. "Like people at work and people we've met here. And as for our CRU friends and family members, what would you think about giving our gifts together instead of having something from each of us? Couples do that a lot, well mostly if they're married, but still it would be easier on both of us."

"I was actually going to suggest the same thing," Cappie said. "I never know what to get for people; well for my friends it's pretty easy. But for other people, like grown-ups, it's rather difficult. Like your parents last year; I spent an entire day at the mall deciding what to get them to impress them."

"Yeah, after I told you not to worry about it," Casey said.

"I just wanted them to like me," Cappie said. "But yeah I'm on board with giving our gifts together. It will be easier for us and I don't want us hating Christmas after our first one in the real world."

-GREEK-

"Ashleigh, I have to say I'm impressed yet again," Clarissa said, approaching her at the Christmas parade as they saw the ZBZ float go by. "The fashions, they're great; the girls look amazing! And the pizzazz on the float is even better!"

"Thanks Clarissa, I do my best," Ashleigh smiled.

"And your best is paying off," Clarissa said. "I made a good choice in picking you to help in my firm's expansion. Keep up the good work, girl."

"Your boss seems impressed," Katherine said, coming over with Beaver after Clarissa left.

"Well she is pretty easy to please most of the time," Ashleigh said.

"That's what he said!" Beaver threw out quickly.

"Really, Beav?" Ashleigh gave him a look. "But I have to admit the ZBZ float turned out pretty awesome."

"The KT float is coming and we heard some people sounding pretty mad," Beaver said. "I wonder what's up with that."

"Let's just say the KTs might have had a little something to do with this week's disappearances of Christmas decorations and presents around campus," Ashleigh said. "You'll see." Soon the KT float came into view, with the KTs surrounding it in their best Christmas attire. 'You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch' began playing from the truck's CD player, and one of the brothers was dressed as the Grinch on the float.

"It's 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas'!" Beaver exclaimed. "That's awesome! Best idea ever, guys!" Beaver, Katherine, and Ashleigh started cheering for them, and then Wade and Heath found them and joined in cheering, too.

"I should've known it was the KTs who stole all of the stuff," Trip said to Calvin as they and some Omega Chi brothers surrounded the Omega Chi float that was now making its way by.

"I'm sure it was just a joke and they're going to give everything back," Calvin said. "I don't think they stole Christmas, they just borrowed it. You have to admit it was pretty clever."

"Well if they don't give it all back, especially our stuff, I'm busting their asses for violation of our agreement," Trip said. "We may not be fighting with the KTs anymore, but I'm still never going to like them."

"If you don't want to like them, then don't," Calvin said. "But you still have to tolerate them."

"Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas, Cyprus Rhodes!" Dale said in his best Santa Claus voice from where he was riding on the float. The pledges, dressed as elves, were on the float as well.

"What's Santa without Mrs. Claus?" Laura suddenly appeared, hopping onto the moving float dressed in a Mrs. Claus costume.

"I thought you were on the ZBZ float," Dale said.

"We're done and at the end of the parade," Laura said. She turned to the crowd and shouted. "Merry Christmas CRU!"

"How many shots did it take you to come up here and do this?" Dale asked with a laugh.

"Okay, about three," Laura admitted. "Let's just enjoy it and wave to the crowd cause I don't do this kind of thing very often." Soon all the floats had reached the end of the parade route and Dean Bowman stood to speak.

"So I guess we all have our answer as to why things have been disappearing around campus this week," Dean Bowman said. "Normally an action like this would be grounds for disqualification, but believe it or not I have both Christmas spirit and a sense of humor, and I can tell a good joke when I see one. Kappa Tau will be returning everything upon conclusion of the parade, so without further ado I'll call up the presidents of Pan-Hellenic and IFC to announce today's winners."

-GREEK-

"I forgot how much fun Christmas weekend at CRU was," Ashleigh said the next night at the KT Christmas party as she stood with Rusty, Calvin, and Heath. "Finals are over, it's the last party before everyone goes home, and I'm totally getting drunk on these red and green Jell-O shots!" She laughed as she took another green Jell-O shot.

"This is hands-down the best Christmas ever!" Rusty said. "KT won the parade and we won the talent show!"

"ZBZ got second place!" Ashleigh said.

"And that new clothing company you're marketing is striking up business," Rusty said. "And what a party this is to finish the semester!"

"When we come back, it'll be final semester baby!" Calvin said, acting drunk as well.

"Hey you know last night was the Worst Holiday Sweater party at Omega Chi," Ashleigh said as Rebecca and Evan approached, referring to Evan's attire. "I'm pretty sure you were there."

"Forgive her; she has a habit of insulting people's clothes when she's drunk," Rebecca said to Evan. "But really; I did tell you not to wear that."

"Hey, I didn't think this sweater was all that bad," Evan protested.

"Looks like that guy's got way too much garland on him," Calvin said, pointing to a KT pledge that was completely wrapped in Christmas garland. "I'll get you some and nobody will notice the sweater."

"I don't think I would do that!" Rusty tried to warn but Calvin didn't listen and started grabbing garland from the pledge. He soon realized that the pledge was wearing nothing underneath the garland.

"Oh geez, my bad man," Calvin apologized and walked back over to the group. "Guess I should've expected something like that."

"Hey, it's Santa and Mrs. Claus!" they heard a KT exclaim. "We've got elves too; now all we need is Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and it'll be like the North Pole up in here!"

"Wow, you guys actually wore those outfits!" Rusty said as Dale and Laura approached in their Santa and Mrs. Claus outfits.

"Of course we would; it is a Christmas party," Dale said.

"Hey guys, sing with us!" Kelsey said as she approached the group with Spidey. "Frosty the snowman, was a happy jolly soul! With a corn cob pipe and a button nose and two eyes made out of coal…"

"Okay I think that's enough," Spidey said with a laugh. "You already made me sing three rounds of Frosty the Snowman with you tonight."

"Really?" Kelsey asked. "I didn't thing we did that one, oh well then…Rudolph the red nosed reindeer, had a very shiny nose…"

"No, no more, please no more!" Spidey said. "I don't think I've sang this many Christmas carols at once since I actually believed in Santa Claus."

"Well there is still one more song we have to do," Rusty said and jumped on the living room coffee table. "All KTs, join me now!" All the KTs started singing to the tune of 'We Wish You a Merry Christmas'. "We wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We'll party all night; tomorrow we'll be gone. But we'll be back next year to do it again! We don't want your figgy pudding, we don't want your figgy pudding, we don't want your figgy pudding, just bring us more beer! We won't go home until we get some, we won't go home until we get some, we won't go home until we get some, and we don't just mean beer! We wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas and we'll see you next year!"

"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!" Rusty shouted and the partygoers cheered.

"That jingle was written by a pledge class in the 1980s," Heath spoke up.

"I found it in a box when I was going through the basement last year," Spidey said. "There was more to it, but somebody spilled pizza sauce on the paper, so that's all we could salvage."

"Pretty great for the first KT Christmas party in four years!" Beaver said as he approached with Katherine. "But really this could be my first KT Christmas party, since I don't remember the ones from freshman and sophomore year."

"Well we probably won't remember this one come morning, so you'll be saying the same thing next time," Wade said.

"Letting loose like this at the end of a long semester is so much fun!" Katherine said. "I just need to get it all out before going home to my parents, who think the only reason I'm still on campus is because of work."

"Then I say, let's take some more shots," Beaver said, seeing a pledge with a tray of Jell-O shots nearby. "Pledge, over here."

"Cheers to tonight and let's have an awesome time before we all go home," Rusty said as they all grabbed shots. "And next stop, Las Vegas!"

A/N: I really got into the Christmas fun in this chapter; hope you liked it! Some relationships might go through changes when the gang heads to Las Vegas for New Years' in the next chapter! I'd love to hear your predictions; what do you think is going to happen? Reviews are greatly appreciated; I've really put a lot of time into this story over the summer and I want to hear your thoughts. :) A big thank you to those who have been loyal readers/reviewers; it really means a lot!

I'll be heading back to college next week but I'm going to continue doing my best to get you new chapters as soon as possible, so stay tuned! :)


	10. What Happens in Vegas

Episode #10: What Happens in Vegas…

Setting: New Years' weekend

Synopsis: The gang goes to Las Vegas to celebrate New Years', which causes relationships to change.

-GREEK-

"Ugh, people are such idiots!" Rebecca exclaimed as she approached her friends that were standing outside their hotel in Las Vegas, waiting for her to check in. "My mom booked rooms and told the hotel that it was two people to a room, but the idiot manager only has us down for two rooms total."

"We can't just get more rooms?" Evan asked.

"It's New Years' weekend; every hotel in Vegas is booked," Rebecca said. "I can't sleep with seven other people in a room."

"Bunking together won't be that bad," Calvin said.

"Yeah, besides, how much sleeping are we going to be doing, anyway?" Ashleigh asked.

"Unless Rebecca and I take one of the rooms, and the thirteen of you share the other one," Evan joked.

"Oh, no way in hell is that happening," Laura said.

"We can split the rooms, eight and seven," Rusty said. "I'm sure we can get some extra pillows and blankets."

"If we're lucky," Rebecca said, and they all walked inside the hotel with their bags.

"By any chance did you bring your rain machine?" Casey asked Rebecca.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I?" Rebecca responded. "I sleep with it every night."

"Let's not bunk with her," Casey whispered to Cappie but Rebecca heard her.

"I guess we kinda established that we can't live in the same room," Rebecca said. "Besides as I recall, you snore."

"Hey, that was only because of the rain machine!" Casey protested. Everyone soon arrived at the rooms and Casey walked in one of them first. "Wow, these would be great rooms, for two people."

"I think the eight of us can manage," Katherine said. "As for sharing the bathroom, we can make up a schedule of who's using it when."

"I don't think my bladder runs on a schedule," Cappie said with a laugh.

"I mean for taking showers," Katherine said.

"There's only one bed and it's only big enough for two people," Ashleigh said.

"So how are we gonna decide who's in the bed and who's on the floor?" Kelsey asked.

"Rock, paper, scissors?" Spidey asked.

"Or, we could play a game," Beaver said. "A drinking game! As in we go out on the town and whoever gets drunk first gets control of the bed."

"Sounds fair to me," Cappie said. "Let's go out and do what we came here for!"

"I'm so excited to be a 21-year old!" Kelsey said.

"You think you guys got this down?" Rusty asked Spidey and Kelsey.

"Yeah I do," Spidey said, pulling out a fake ID. "My name is William Miller. I live at 78 Hobart Drive in Cyprus, Ohio."

"And I'm Marissa Delafino," Kelsey said with a weird look at her ID. "Really, what kind of name is that? Anyway, I live at 601 Olive Street in Cyprus, Ohio."

"Who's ready to go out?" Calvin asked as he and the occupants of the other room came over.

"We're ready," Rusty said. "Whoever gets drunk first gets control of the bed in our room."

"We should do that for our room, too," Wade said.

"But since Rebecca invited us here, we let her and Evan have it," Calvin said.

"It pays to be the hostess," Rebecca said.

-GREEK-

"Ahhh!" two screams woke everyone in one room up the next morning.

"Now where the hell is the bathroom?" a hungover Beaver asked.

"What's going on?" Casey asked, turning on the lights from her spot in the bed. Everyone was now awake and saw Beaver had fallen on top of Rusty and Ashleigh on the floor.

"Can you get up now?" Rusty asked. "The bathroom's that way."

"Oh yeah, sorry," Beaver mumbled and stumbled his way to the bathroom.

"What time is it?" Cappie groaned, sounding hungover as well.

"8:00, or maybe 9 or 10, I don't know," Ashleigh mumbled, burying her face back in her pillow.

"It's 8:48," Katherine said, more awake than some of the others. "I don't know about you but I'm just going to get up. We don't want to miss a second of this weekend."

"We might as well get up," Kelsey said, and some of the group started getting off the floor.

"You guys get up, and wake me when the shower's free," Ashleigh said.

"Yeah me too," Cappie said, rolling back over in the bed.

"Come on, we'll go get some coffee," Casey said. "It's New Years' Eve; we've got a lot to do today."

"Before we party again tonight," Beaver said, returning from the bathroom.

"Oh that's right, today is New Years' Eve," Cappie said, finally sitting up. "I do need to get up then."

"That's the spirit," Casey said happily as they got up. She then threw a pillow at Ashleigh, who was still on the floor.

"Hey, what was that for?" Ashleigh asked, turning over to face her.

"You too," Casey said. "Up!"

"Why the heck not; I was the one who said we wouldn't be sleeping much anyway," Ashleigh gave in and got up, and then there was a knock at the door.

"Got it," Spidey said, who was closest to the door.

"Room service!" a hotel employee, who had a cart of food with him, said when the door was opened.

"Did someone order room service?" Spidey asked.

"It couldn't be any of us; we just got up," Rusty said.

"I'm sorry, I must have the wrong room," the employee said.

"No, wait it was me," Beaver spoke up. "I ordered it."

"Okay, well in that case, enjoy," the employee said, then gave them the cart and left.

"Did you really order all this?" Cappie asked, noticing there was a lot of food.

"No," Beaver laughed. "But it's free food for us!"

"We shouldn't just take someone else's food," Katherine said. "What if the hotel finds out and makes us pay?" There was a knock on the door that divided the group's two rooms, and Casey opened it up to reveal Rebecca and the others.

"I thought I heard someone say room service," Rebecca said. "I ordered it."

"I knew she ordered it," Beaver told Katherine. "Like I was really going to take someone else's food. Pssh!"

"Well it's ours so I say let's eat," Heath spoke up.

"Coffee!" Laura exclaimed, rushing for the coffeepot on the cart. "One good thing about this hotel; the coffee is like the best I've ever had!"

"I think you might want to lay off the coffee," Dale said. "You already had three cups downstairs. Plus, you're still drunk from last night."

"I can't help myself; it's so good!" Laura said.

-GREEK-

"Three generations of KTs exploring another city together," Cappie said as he, Rusty, and Spidey walked down the streets of Vegas. "Only this time we don't have any KT business to attend to."

"No, you've just got what's the biggest business of your life so far," Rusty said. "I'm so excited for you and Case!"

"Nothing's official yet until she says yes," Cappie said.

"I haven't heard the big plan yet," Spidey said. "When are you going to do it?"

"I'm sure you've seen New Years' proposals caught on TV before," Cappie said. "Well last year when we were all in Chicago watching a New Years' Eve show, we saw one, and Casey made this comment about how romantic it was, and how if the guy was willing to pop the question in front of millions of people, he must really love the girl. So that's what I want to do, tonight at midnight."

"Casey always wanted to be on TV when we were younger," Rusty said. "Once, Mom and I were on the 6:00 news and Casey got mad that she wasn't with us."

"I didn't realize you and your mom were partners in crime," Cappie laughed.

"No, we didn't get on the news like that," Rusty said. "We were Christmas shopping and the news crew was interviewing shoppers. That was the same day Mom had to fight for the coffeemaker."

"Maybe if we're lucky and a camera sees us, I'll make her childhood dream come true," Cappie said. "Right now the girls are shopping and we've got the whole city in front of us; what should we do? Besides go to the casinos."

"I'm surprised you didn't want to go with Beaver, Heath, and Wade to the casinos," Spidey said.

"I'm not going to the casinos until Casey's with me to restrain me," Cappie laughed. "Or else I'd probably spend all of our hard earnings and then she'd never marry me."

-GREEK-

"You know, sooner or later you're gonna have to tell me why you dragged me across the city and where we're going," Calvin said to Evan as they stepped off of a city bus.

"I should probably tell you now, or else I might never go through with it," Evan said. "But maybe going through with it is really a bad idea; I don't know."

"Tell me what 'it' is and maybe I can help you out," Calvin said. "Let me guess, does it involve Rebecca?"

"Yeah, it does," Evan said. "I never thought I'd say this, but Cappie inspired me. You know how he's proposing to Casey tonight?"

"No, I didn't," Calvin said surprised. "Rusty said it'd probably be happening soon, but he didn't say for sure when. Wait, you're not proposing to Rebecca, are you? Cause I really don't think she's ready for that. Knowing her, it'll probably be a long time before she is."

"No, I'm not proposing," Evan laughed. "I know it's way too soon for that; she's still in college besides and I'm in law school. But I want to show her that I want to make a real commitment to her. When we were at my parents' for Christmas, they made this comment that really pissed me off, and Rebecca overheard it. Things have been a little weird between us ever since."

"I thought things were going better with your parents," Calvin said. "What did they say?"

"They just don't think before they talk, and that's half the problem," Evan said. "They were talking to each other and Rebecca and I both overheard. They said they didn't believe I'd ever make a long-term commitment to Rebecca because after her father's scandals, she's got a bad name for herself. They think that if I marry her someday, it would hurt my professional reputation in a legal career. All in all, they said we're not built to last."

"Really, that's a bunch of bologna," Calvin said. "Rebecca didn't do anything wrong; it was all her father. Seriously, why are people so judgmental? No offense to your parents or anything."

"I could care less if you offend them right now," Evan said. "Just when I think I might be able to make things right again, they pull the whole 'professional relationships are more important than personal ones' thing, and that's not the way I want to be anymore."

"So what did Rebecca say when she heard them?" Calvin asked.

"Well I wanted to confront them, but Rebecca stopped me," Evan said. "She said not to worry about what they said, but I can tell she's been thinking about it all week, but she won't talk to me about it. I never thought she was big on making commitments, but I could tell what my parents said didn't make her happy, which got me thinking that maybe she does want some kind of commitment from me."

"So what are you going to do, lavaliere her or something?" Calvin asked.

"That's exactly what I'm going to do," Evan said. "Or should I?"

"Rebecca's my friend, but she's your girlfriend and you know her better than I do," Calvin said. "If you think it's something she wants, then I say go for it. So want to explain now why we came over here?"

"I looked online and the only place in Vegas that's open this weekend that sells lavalieres is on this street," Evan said, and stopped in front of a store. "Since I sold mine some time after my relationship with Casey ended, I need to buy a new one. Here's the place." Before they could go inside, Calvin's phone rang.

"You go inside and get it; I've got to take this call but I'll wait here," Calvin said. "It's the project manager at the volunteer organization Heath and I have been waiting to hear back from all week."

"Okay, good luck," Evan said and went inside.

-GREEK-

"We may be losing some money but this is so much fun!" Wade exclaimed as he, Beaver, and Heath were at a casino playing various games, and currently were in the middle of roulette.

"Tell me about it," Heath said. "How much money have we spent, by the way?"

"Not that much I don't think," Beaver said.

"Oh look, it's those college kids again," an older man said to his wife nearby, and then turned to Beaver, Wade, and Heath. "I hope you're rich, cause I've seen you here all afternoon and you haven't won anything yet."

"We're not college kids; we're all college graduates," Heath said.

"Oh, well you sure seem to drink like college kids and blow money like kids," the man said.

"Hey, it's New Years' and we're in Las Vegas," Wade said. "We're just having fun."

"I'd just be careful if I were you," the man said. "I've seen people your age get into a lot of trouble at places like this."

"What does that guy know; he was just bitter and old," Beaver said once the man and his wife walked away.

"We can restrain ourselves," Heath said. "To prove it, let's play a few more games then be done here. I'm getting a little hungry for dinner myself, anyway."

"Yeah, we have self-control," Beaver said. "Just a few more games. Gotta get a few more bucks from the ATM though." He put his debit card in the nearby ATM but nothing would come out. "I think this machine's broken."

"It says your card's declined," Wade said.

"Insufficient funds," Heath read the screen.

"I can't have insufficient funds," Beaver said. "I only need twenty dollars."

"Let me try mine," Wade said and stuck his card in the machine. "Geez, mine won't work either."

"Neither will mine," Heath said after trying his. "This is bad, really bad!"

"Maybe that old guy did know something," Beaver said. "Katherine is going to kill me! That was practically all my money on that card, and she can't pay the bills herself."

"I took out extra salary from Gentleman's Choice this month just for this trip," Wade said.

"Well if we can't pay our rent next month, we might end up sleeping there," Heath said.

"We'll just use my credit card to eat off of for the rest of the trip, then figure out what to do when we get home," Wade said.

-GREEK-

"I still can't believe you gave up shopping with the other girls just to bring me here," Dale said to Laura as they were at a Vegas casino, as well. "You know the chances of actually winning big at these places are like more than one in a million. It's just a waste of money."

"You won a little bit at roulette," Laura said.

"But then you lost it all on the poker game," Dale said.

"We're in Vegas, which means we need to live a little!" Laura said. "I can go shopping anywhere, but this is fun we can only get here." Just then the slot machine they were using started beeping loudly.

"Oh, I hope that doesn't mean we lost again," Dale said.

"No, it means we won!" Laura exclaimed, pointing to the word, 'Jackpot!' lit up on the machine. "Look, I just got the jackpot!"

"Wow, I wonder how much we won," Dale said.

"Today's your lucky day!" an employee said, coming over and pushing some buttons on the machine. "You won fifty."

"Fifty dollars, that's it?" Dale asked.

"No, fifty thousand dollars," the employee said.

"Fifty thousand dollars!" Laura exclaimed.

"Yes, congratulations," the employee said, handing Laura a piece of paper. "You can claim your prize at the front desk."

"Can you believe this!" Laura shouted. "And you said this all was a waste of money!"

"I guess I was wrong," Dale said. "Some of this is going right into my research fund."

"And I can pay some of those damn student loans before I graduate," Laura said. "You know winning something at a casino was one of two things I wanted to happen when I was here."

"So what's the second thing?" Dale asked.

"I want to have sex!" Laura admitted. "I'm a 22 year old virgin; there, I said it! And I do not want to graduate college as one."

"You know what I think about that; after what happened with Sheila, I swore to myself I wouldn't do that again until I'm married," Dale said.

"So then let's get married!" Laura said. "We're now fifty thousand dollars richer, and we're on the Vegas strip of all places. If we pay a preacher a couple thousand dollars, they'd probably marry us tonight."

"I think this is the caffeine and alcohol combination in you talking," Dale said. "You can't seriously want to get married right now."

"I am serious, and it can be a secret wedding," Laura said. "No one else has to know yet, and nothing has to change; it's not like we have to move in together when we're still in college. All that would be different is we'd be recorded in some courthouse as legally married."

"I still don't know," Dale said. "I really want to get married someday, but my plan was waiting until I was out of college. Even out of grad school."

"Well do you want to have sex?" Laura asked.

"Well, yeah," Dale said. "I've wanted to since we got together, but I knew I couldn't."

"So then are you with me?" Laura asked. "Like I said, nothing else has to change with us. Then afterwards we can get ourselves our own room somewhere tonight."

"Every hotel around is booked," Dale pointed out.

"Again, we have fifty thousand dollars," Laura said. "If you pay someone enough, you get what you want. If we spend some on this weekend, we'll still have plenty to take back to Cyprus."

"Okay, in the spirit of Vegas, I say let's go find a preacher man who looks like Elvis and do this," Dale said.

"It's like we're living our own country song," Laura said.

-GREEK-

"Guess who called just a little while ago?" Calvin asked Heath as they met back at the hotel. "It was the project manager, and he wants us to be team leaders for the project in India starting this summer."

"That's great," Heath said unexcitedly.

"You don't sound too excited about it," Calvin said. "This is what we wanted."

"Oh yeah it is," Heath said. "It's not that. It's just well, Beaver, Wade, and I sort of got ourselves in a little too deep at the casino today."

"Like you lost money?" Calvin asked. "How deep is too deep?"

"Pretty much my entire bank account, which was only like a thousand dollars to begin with but still," Heath sighed. "I have some in savings, but not much to live off of. I know it was stupid, but we just got caught up in it all and we were drinking and didn't know how much we were spending."

"That's bad," Calvin said. "The most I can offer is to let you stay with me when we get back to Cyprus; I'm not exactly rolling in money, being in college and all."

"Yeah, that's the thing too," Heath said. "I'm not even sure I can afford another semester of grad school. I use loans for tuition but as far as books and other stuff, I don't know what to do. I may have to drop out and just get a full-time job. Man, I can't believe we let this happen. I'm really sorry to bring this on you."

"You don't need to apologize," Calvin said. "I'm not mad at you, but I am worried for you. I'll help you figure something out."

-GREEK-

"Hey, where have you been all day?" Katherine asked Beaver back at the hotel. "Did you spend all day at the casinos?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Beaver said. "There's no use in trying to hide it; something very bad happened to us today at the casinos…"

"Is someone hurt?" Katherine interrupted, concerned.

"Not physically," Beaver said. "You see, my bank account is kind of, well, depleted."

"I know when you use words like 'depleted' you're talking serious," Katherine said. "You're saying you lost all of your money gambling?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Beaver said again. "I'm really sorry; I know it's gonna be hard now to pay the bills this month. My parents keep my emergency savings account so I have some in that, but it's not much."

"I can't believe this," Katherine said. "You had two months' pay in your account and now it's just gone! I have our finances calculated down to the last dollar between yours and my incomes, and the little money I make isn't enough to cover this month's expenses. My mother was right in telling me I shouldn't depend on a man for anything, and I should have listened to her."

"Whoa, what's that supposed to mean?" Beaver asked. "It was a mistake, and I'm sorry. I get paid again in a few weeks besides, and this won't happen again. We just got a little too caught up in the spirit of Vegas and New Years' and went way too far."

"And how do I know something like this won't happen again?" Katherine asked. "I've noticed that whenever you get together with these guys without me or any of our other friends around, you lose all sense and just turn into, well…" She trailed off.

"The fraternity guy I once was?" Beaver suggested.

"Yes, exactly," Katherine said. "I know they're your friends and you should spend time with them, but you have responsibilities now. A job, money, us having our own place."

"And those are all very important to me," Beaver said.

"Sometimes it doesn't seem that way," Katherine said. "When you get out of school and go straight to the KT house or Gentleman's Choice or somewhere else that's not our apartment, you spend our food money on beer, or you order pay-per-view movies for you and the guys without even asking me. Look, I really want this to work between you and me, but I'm beginning to think that we rushed into the whole moving in together thing."

"But it's been almost six months," Beaver said.

"I know, but if continuing to live together and having to fight over finances is going to make us fall apart, then maybe we should get separate apartments until we're older," Katherine said. "We'll talk about it later; now I think I'm going to go take a walk."

"What about New Years'?" Beaver asked. "There are parties all down the street. Where are you going to walk to?"

"The exercise room," Katherine said. "I'll try to catch up with you before midnight."

-GREEK-

"So I guess this is where all the crazies come for New Years'," Evan laughed as he and Rebecca observed the Vegas strip about two hours before midnight.

"I guess so," Rebecca said.

"So did you have fun shopping today?" Evan asked.

"Of course I did, it was shopping in Vegas," Rebecca said. "Spent a little more than I intended, but at least I didn't end up in as bad shape as Beaver, Wade, and Heath."

"Yeah, I heard about that," Evan said. "I tried to call you earlier thinking you'd be back by then; have you really been shopping all this time?"

"No, we got back before dinner," Rebecca said. "I decided to check out the hotel's hot tub so that's where I was."

"Is everything okay?" Evan asked. "Things have just seemed a little weird between us ever since Christmas at my parents'. What my parents said about us, just don't believe them. I don't believe them; it's just them opening their mouths and not knowing what they're saying."

"I haven't even thought about what your parents said," Rebecca said unconvincingly. "But if I had, I'd say I wish I could tell myself that it's all not true. But what if they're right; what if we're not meant to last once we're both in the professional world?"

"I want us to last," Evan said. "I learned from my past mistakes and I don't want to make them again. My parents don't know who I am now; I'm trying to let them get to know me, but it's things like this that just make me want to give up on them again. We're starting a new year in about two hours, and I want us to go into it happy. I want to give you something to show you that I truly want to make this work long-term. I don't want you to worry."

"Oh, please don't propose," Rebecca said. "That's Cappie's area of expertise tonight. But really, you don't have to do anything. I've been thinking way too much about the future for my own good over semester break. I guess that came from filling out all my grad school applications. Just don't worry about it, I'm sorry and we're fine. Let's just celebrate New Years'."

"I know we're both not ready for engagement," Evan said. "But I do want to give you this." He handed her a small black box.

"It's a lavaliere," Rebecca said when she opened the box. "I don't know what to say; I really wasn't expecting this."

"It's my way of proving to you that I'm committed," Evan said. "Isn't that what you want to hear?"

"I do, but at the same time I don't," Rebecca said. "I've always been able to take things one step at a time with a guy and not worry about the future, but it seems like I can't do that anymore with you and I kinda wish I still could. That's what really bothers me."

"So you'd rather just live day to day as opposed to feeling stable in our relationship?" Evan asked. "I thought you were past that when we got back together."

"I thought I was too," Rebecca said. "Don't get me wrong; of course I want to be with you. I just need to keep telling myself not to worry about making a lifelong commitment right now. Besides, I've seen that lavalieres don't always mean commitment. Look at you and Casey, Casey and Max, or Rusty and Jordan, to name a few; they didn't last. People take the lavaliering thing too lightly anymore; it's like it's almost meaningless."

"Well, my 'meaningless' gift cost me a month's pay," Evan said, getting irritated. "I thought this was what you wanted, but I guess I was wrong. When you do figure out what you want from me, let me know." With that, he walked off.

-GREEK-

"I'm sorry it took us over three hours to get dinner," Cappie said to Casey as they stood among the crowd on the Vegas strip. "I made a reservation, but this would be the night the restaurant would overbook."

"It was worth it; it was one of the nicest restaurants in Vegas and we did have a private table," Casey smiled.

"Five minutes to midnight!" came an announcement over the loudspeaker, and the noise of the crowd got even louder.

"Here we are, starting yet another year together," Casey said after a moment. "I wonder what this one's going to bring."

"It's going to bring a lot of good things, let me tell you," Cappie said. "Starting right now."

"I know; this is so amazing being here," Casey said.

"I don't just mean that," Cappie said, taking her hands. "Case, you mean so much to me and spending this past year with you has been absolutely incredible. Actually, it's more than that; knowing you for the past five years has made me such a better person and I couldn't be happier for that. There are so many reasons why I love you, but we'd be here until dawn if I named them all."

"Cap…," Casey tried to get a word in but couldn't.

"Three minutes to midnight!" the loudspeaker said.

"I've got more to say," Cappie smiled. "I love you because you're the first and only person who's made me want more for myself in life, and you've made me feel so much better about leaving Cyprus. Whenever I miss my friends, you're the person who's there beside me and makes me realize what a great life I have here; in D.C. I mean. I love you because you truly believe in me and support me, and I hope I'm doing the same for you."

"Two minutes to midnight!" the loudspeaker said.

"I told you on Valentines' Day our senior year that I first fell in love with you at that Quickie Mart and I loved you every day since, and that's a true statement," Cappie continued. "Even when we weren't together, I was still in love with you and it took me until we did get back together for me to realize that. You truly are the love of my life and you are my future. I know what a mess my life became when we weren't together, and I can't imagine the rest of my life without you in it."

"One minute to midnight!" the loudspeaker said.

"You've been such an amazing girlfriend and a friend to me, and I can't say thank you enough," Cappie continued. "I can't imagine anyone but you becoming my wife. Casey Cartwright…" Cappie got down on one knee and presented her with the ring. People in the crowd nearby started looking at them with curiosity. "Will you make me the luckiest guy on Earth and marry me?"

"Oh my gosh, Cap!" Casey was smiling widely and was practically in tears of joy. "Yes! A million times yes!" Cappie stood up quickly, put the ring on her finger, then took her in his arms and kissed her. The people who had witnessed started clapping and cheering for them.

"Hey look, you're on the camera!" a man shouted, pointing to a screen that was on one of the buildings, but Cappie and Casey didn't break away to notice.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one!" the crowd chanted, and then it was midnight and there were fireworks everywhere. Confetti filled the air and a large '2012' was now displayed on the video screen.

"Happy New Year, fiancée," Cappie smiled brightly at her.

"And Happy New Year to you, fiancé," Casey smiled back and kissed him again.

-GREEK-

"Hey guys!" Casey greeted Rusty and Ashleigh happily as they found them in the crowd after the midnight celebration died down a little bit.

"Case, got anything you want to tell us?" Ashleigh asked with a huge smile.

"We're engaged!" Casey screamed, throwing her arms around Ashleigh.

"Ahh, oh my gosh I'm so happy for you!" Ashleigh shouted.

"Congratulations, guys!" Rusty said happily, hugging them both. "We saw you on camera. You did always want to be on TV, Case."

"I'll go online sometime and download the video of the New Years' show," Cappie said to Casey. "I'm sure it'll be on there."

"When I imagined what my proposal would be like, I never imagined something like this," Casey said excitedly. "This is better than I ever could have imagined!" She turned to Rusty and Ashleigh, "I know the four of us were supposed to go out after midnight, but of course I had no idea about this and…"

"Go," Ashleigh interrupted. "We knew about this all along. You need to, you know, celebrate together tonight. We'll all get brunch in the morning or something."

"Sounds great," Casey said.

"Bye, Happy New Year!" Cappie said before he and Casey maneuvered off through the crowd.

"Well, Ash, looks like it's just you and me and Vegas," Rusty smiled and put an arm around her. "Let's go enjoy the best New Years' ever!"

"Yeah, I haven't had a drink since last year, you know!" Ashleigh said with a laugh. "Well, more like an hour ago, but the last year thing always sounds more dramatic."

"Like we can say we haven't taken showers since last year," Rusty said.

"And this is the only day of the year when that isn't totally gross," Ashleigh said. "I realized I forgot my cell phone when we left earlier; since we're going by the hotel I'm just going to run up to the room and grab it." After some time making their way through the mass of people, they made it back to the hotel.

"I'll wait right here for you," Rusty said and stood inside the hotel lobby as Ashleigh started toward their room.

"I wouldn't go in there if I were you," Ashleigh heard Cappie say as she was about to go into the room. She turned to see Cappie and Casey sitting on the floor outside Rebecca and the others' room.

"Why, did someone stink up the bathroom?" Ashleigh asked jokingly. "I just forgot my cell phone; it'll take two seconds to get it."

"No, it's not the bathroom…," Casey tried to say, but Ashleigh had already opened the door.

"Oh my God!" Ashleigh screamed loudly after turning the light on and looking inside the room. She quickly turned the light out and shut the door, her cell phone forgotten again.

"Is there a dead body in there or something?" a lady walking down the hallway asked. "That's the second time I've heard someone scream after going in that room."

"No, it's just my friends; you don't want to know," Ashleigh said, and the lady walked away. Ashleigh turned to Cappie and Casey. "I'm going to get some drinks and hopefully forget I ever walked in there just now. What are you guys doing here, by the way? I thought you'd be long gone somewhere by now."

"We were going to lock ourselves in the room to, well, use it," Casey said.

"But we were kinda too late, so since everyone else is out we're using Rebecca and the others' room," Cappie said. "A hotel guy is coming to let us in; we said it was our room and we got locked out."

"You kids have fun then," Ashleigh said and then went back downstairs to meet Rusty.

"What's up; you look like you just saw a ghost," Rusty said as they walked out of the hotel.

"Have you ever walked in on your friends, like, doing it?" Ashleigh asked.

"Unfortunately, I have had that experience," Rusty said.

"And unfortunately so have I, just now," Ashleigh said. "Cappie and Casey were outside and tried to tell me not to go in, but I just thought it was because the bathroom stunk or something."

"Wait, so if Cappie and Casey weren't the ones in the room, who was?" Rusty asked. "Beaver and Katherine?"

"No, they're kind of in an argument right now," Ashleigh said.

"The only other two people who share our room then are Spidey and Kelsey," Rusty said, and Ashleigh nodded. "Oh my God, are you serious? It was them?"

"I'm serious," Ashleigh said. "But something tells me this is more of a drunk New Years' thing with them and not a they're finally getting together for real thing."

"I think you might be right about that," Rusty sighed. "All we can do right now though is stay out of there. I'm sure we'll be hearing about this soon enough."

"Yeah, let's go get our party on," Ashleigh said. Rusty took her hand and they started walking until someone stopped them.

"Spitter, Ashleigh, care to make a generous donation to start the new year off right?" they heard someone say.

"Wade?" Rusty asked, seeing who the person was. "Why do you look like a homeless man?"

"I'm pulling the homeless man act to try to get some money," Wade said. "So far, it's working a little."

"Good luck; I resolved to help others in the new year so here you go," a woman approached, putting some money in his cup.

"Thanks, and a Happy New Year to you!" Wade said to the woman.

"Well I guess this is one way to come out of casino bankruptcy," Ashleigh said.

-GREEK-

"What are you doing in here?" Spidey asked Kelsey later on New Years' morning, walking into the hotel's fitness room and seeing she was the only one there.

"Just thought I'd start the new year off right with some exercise," Kelsey responded, as she was walking on one of the treadmills. "You look like a zombie; you can't possibly be here to work out."

"I've never been so drunk in my life," Spidey said. "I really need to know what the hell happened last night. All I remember was we were both drinking, then we were back in the hotel room, and there were people screaming and I think I heard fireworks. But I have this weird feeling that something happened with us when everyone else was still out."

"Something did happen," Kelsey said. "Geez, I can't tell you; you're going to hate me. But I have to, since unfortunately there were witnesses, AKA three of our roommates." She trailed off.

"Did we, like, actually hook up?' Spidey asked. "Tell me the truth."

"Yeah, that is what happened between us," Kelsey said. "And I don't regret it one bit."

"Wow, so does that mean you broke up with Robert?" Spidey asked.

"That's the next thing I was going to say; I actually didn't," Kelsey said. "I couldn't do it; I lost my nerve. Again."

"I can't believe this happened and you still have a boyfriend," Spidey said. "And why do you seem okay and I feel like I've been run over by a tractor-trailer? Weren't we both drinking?"

"I didn't drink nearly as much as you," Kelsey said.

"Oh my gosh, if I was too drunk and forced you into anything, them I'm really sorry," Spidey said.

"Oh no, you didn't, I wanted this to happen," Kelsey said. "Remember what I told you; what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas."

"What, so you got me really drunk and let this happen when you're still in a relationship, just to mess with me?" Spidey asked.

"No, I didn't mean it like that," Kelsey said.

"Well that's the way it sounds," Spidey said. "Thanks to you, I'll never remember my first time. We keep saying we're just friends; well friends don't pull crap like this on each other. Are you going to tell your boyfriend this happened?"

"No of course not, I can't do that," Kelsey said.

"And if that's the attitude you have about honesty, then you and I would never work in a relationship anyway," Spidey said.

"Are you two done with your little spat here?" an older woman spoke up from the entrance to the fitness room. "I'd like to get my morning exercise in peace."

"I think we're done here," Spidey said. "Sorry, ma'am; I was just leaving."

-GREEK-

"Okay, I'll call you in a few days then," Heath was saying into his phone where he was standing on the balcony of the hotel room, as Calvin opened the sliding glass door and stepped outside.

"You're up early for the morning after a big night," Calvin said.

"Couldn't sleep," Heath said.

"Who was on the phone?" Calvin asked.

"That was the project manager," Heath said. "I called him, hoping he might have something for me to do until we leave for India again this summer."

"So you're not going back to school this semester?" Calvin asked.

"For one thing I really can't afford it now," Heath said. "And honestly, I really don't need to be in school right now. I should tell you the main reason I decided to go was because I knew you'd be at CRU another year, and I didn't want to go on some big project without you. It would give me something to do that would help us out in the future, but we can deal with that when it comes."

"So what did the project manager say?" Calvin asked.

"Remember how we told him about Ashleigh's and my class project on campus recruitment," Heath said. "He wants me to do that for real; visit different college campuses and get more people involved in the organization and on the project in India."

"That's great," Calvin said. "So you'd be leaving CRU?"

"It's only temporary," Heath said. "I'll be back in time for spring break. I could just stay in Cyprus and get a job at McDonald's or something, but getting more people on the project could really help us, and the project manager said there'd be some compensation for me."

"As much as I'm going to miss having you around for a few months," Calvin began. "I'd rather see you doing something like this than flipping burgers."

-GREEK-

"Aside from the drama some of our friends are currently having, this has been an awesome trip I have to say," Ashleigh said as she, Rusty, Cappie, and Casey were at a restaurant for brunch.

"I'd say!" Casey said excitedly. "It's going to be a New Years' I'll never forget."

"So when's the wedding?" Rusty asked.

"We haven't gotten that far yet; we've only been engaged for about eleven hours," Cappie laughed. "I know absolutely zilch about wedding planning, but I'm sure it'll take some time."

"We've both got a lot going on, so the wedding might not even be until next year," Casey said. "We don't know yet. But there is something Cappie and I really want, that we want to ask you guys now."

"Is it about being in the wedding?" Ashleigh asked excitedly. "Not that I expected it or anything, you know!"

"You should expect it," Casey smiled. "Ash, you're my best friend and the sister I never had, and there's no one else I want as my maid of honor more than you."

"I'd love to be your maid of honor!" Ashleigh said happily. "You can count on me to help make your wedding amazing!"

"And Spitter, you've gone from not only being my KT little brother, but now you're my future brother-in-law. I was hoping you'd be my best man."

"Of course I will, Cap," Rusty said with a smile. "This really means a lot."

"We love you guys," Casey said. "And there's no one else we could see being such important parts of our wedding."

"I feel like we're all family already," Cappie said. "We've spent Thanksgiving together, and Christmas. When we're older, we'll be the family who fights over who's cooking Christmas dinner or whose house your parents have to stay at."

"They're staying at your house," Casey said to Rusty. "If they stayed with me, I know they'd be onto me about the littlest things."

"I think we've got some time before we even have our own houses for Mom and Dad to come to," Rusty said. "But now, I'm ready to help give you guys a great wedding, whenever you decide to have it, because you deserve it."

"Your wedding will be the second best wedding I'll ever go to," Ashleigh said.

"What's the first best?" Cappie asked.

"You'll see someday," Rusty said. "Maybe in a few years."

A/N: And there you have it; this is my longest chapter yet of both my Greek stories! I really hope you liked it; some events may have been surprising. Next chapter will be the aftermath once everyone returns from the trip, when they have to deal with the decisions they made in Vegas. Let me know-what was your favorite thing that happened in this chapter? What was the most surprising?

It's my first week back at college, so I may end up taking a week or so break from this; not completely sure, I'll just see how classes go. But I'll be back with the second half of the story as soon as possible! Find out what happens as graduation approaches for the seniors, and what will become of Cappie and Casey's wedding plans.

If you haven't yet, follow/like my Greek fan pages on Twitter and Facebook (posted on my profile). I always tweet periodically my progress on the story, and post whenever I update. :)


	11. …Doesn't Always Stay in Vegas

Episode #11: …Doesn't Always Stay in Vegas

Setting: About a week after New Years, start of a new semester

Synopsis: The gang deals with the aftermath of the Vegas trip and the decisions they made.

-GREEK-

"What's going on, guys?" Rusty asked happily as he sat down with Calvin and Dale, who were eating at a table on the quad.

"Nothing much," Calvin replied in a melancholy tone.

"Yeah, nothing much," Dale said in the same manner.

"That nothing kinda sounds like a something," Rusty said. "Did something happen at the house?"

"No, what makes you think that?" Dale asked.

"Anyway, when did you get back?" Calvin asked.

"Ash and I got back really late last night," Rusty said. "It was great spending the weekend at her house. And then on our way back it started snowing really badly and we sat on the highway for over three hours, and I have to say it was the best time being stuck in traffic I've ever had."

"Well I'm glad to hear you and your girlfriend had such a great time," Dale said in a sarcastic tone.

"Okay really, what's going on?" Rusty asked, concerned. "You've been acting different ever since New Years'. How come you won't tell us what happened?"

"Cause nothing happened; I don't know what you're talking about," Dale said. "Anyway, I have to get to class; don't want to be late on the first day of my last semester."

"Do you have any idea what's going on?" Rusty asked Calvin once Dale left.

"No idea," Calvin replied. "He won't say anything, but I have this feeling it has something to do with him and Laura."

"What about you; everything okay?" Rusty asked.

"Oh, yeah," Calvin replied. "I'm just starting to realize that our time at CRU is really coming to an end; I'm really excited that Heath and I are going overseas, but at the same time it kinda scares the crap out of me. It won't be like going for a few months and then coming back; we may be out of the country for a year or more."

"The thought of really leaving here kinda scares me, too," Rusty said. "But we've still got time; let's just think about having a great time this semester and not about the end that's upon us."

"Yeah, we've really got to live it up this semester," Calvin said. "I am getting concerned about Dale, though; like you said he's been acting weird lately and all he's done in the week since we've been back is eat, sleep, and spend basically the rest of the day in the lab."

"If I didn't know any better I'd say he's probably just working on his senior project," Rusty said. "But I really think something else is going on."

"Yeah, remember we didn't see him and Laura from New Years' Eve afternoon until it was time to go home the day after New Years'," Calvin said. "I know they didn't get into a fight, but whatever happened with them doesn't really seem like it's all good."

-GREEK-

"I know a normal second year grad student wouldn't say this, but I am ready for classes to start today," Katherine said to Ashleigh as they were getting ready in Ashleigh's apartment.

"Why, are you getting tired of organizing my apartment?" Ashleigh asked. "You've been doing enough of that for the past week."

"I hope that was okay," Katherine said. "I just needed something to do so I wouldn't spend time thinking about whether I really should be doing what I'm doing."

"And by doing what you're doing, you mean testing your boyfriend by pretending to move into my apartment," Ashleigh said.

"I didn't pretend to move in, and I am paying half your rent," Katherine said. "But I guess you could say I'm testing Walter; you know that financial difficulties are one of the top things that can break a marriage or a relationship where a couple lives together. Don't get me wrong; I really want things to work out long-term, which is mostly why I'm doing this."

"So you're not really mad at him then?" Ashleigh asked.

"When he first told me, yeah I was pretty upset," Katherine said. "But what really bothers me is the fact that we're both going on twenty four years old and half the time he still acts like he's in college. I myself have learned to enjoy a party every now and then, but I don't go out and do something completely without thinking like blowing all my money at a casino. I just want him to prove that he can really act like a grown-up; I want to see how he handles this situation on his own."

"How's that going so far?" Ashleigh asked.

"All I know is he's been staying at the school later and later this past week," Katherine said. "I'm willing to take that as a good sign; maybe he's tutoring some kids after school or something. He said it's a surprise he can't tell me right now."

"He and Cappie really area a lot alike," Ashleigh said. "Cappie loves Casey and he was finally willing to grow up for her. And Beaver really loves you, and because of that, I know he won't disappoint you."

-GREEK-

"Welcome back," Spidey said to Kelsey as they ran into each other on the way to classes.

"Welcome back?" Kelsey asked confused. "I've been here ever since we got back from Vegas, and so have you. What have you been doing all week?"

"Working in the lab," Spidey said. "I'm starting on a project this semester. It's high time I start on something of my own, being halfway through sophomore year now."

"That's great," Kelsey said, and they were silent for a moment.

"Is this really how it's going to be?" Spidey asked.

"Is this really how what's going to be?" Kelsey asked confused.

"Are you just trying to pretend like nothing happened?" Spidey asked.

"What happened?" Kelsey asked.

"Stop playing dumb," Spidey said. "I really think we need to talk about this."

"Look, it was New Years' and we'd both been drinking, maybe you more than me but still," Kelsey said. "I'm willing to let what happened there stay there and not let it affect anything here now. Let's just go back to normal and be friends."

"Even though I blacked out that night, I still know what happened and I can't forget it and move on just like that," Spidey said. "You can't honestly say that what happened meant nothing, especially since you got me started on drinking that night in the first place."

"I won't say it meant nothing, but I won't say it should change anything, either," Kelsey said. "I'm just not ready."

"What is this with you?" Spidey asked. "One day you're ready to change, the next you're not. One day we're friends, and the next we hook up in Vegas, and then you want to forget anything happened. It's like you're on a roller coaster, and you're dragging me along for the ride."

"I'm sorry," Kelsey said. "The last thing I want to do is hurt you."

"Then I really think I need to get off this ride," Spidey said.

-GREEK-

"Casey?" Rebecca asked, seeing her face come up on video chat as she was getting ready for class. "Why are you calling me this early?"

"I just have some time before I have to leave for work," Casey said. "I saw you online and thought I'd ask how the grad school visits went last week."

"They were okay," Rebecca said. "There is one I like more than the others. But I think I know the real reason you want to talk, and no, I don't want to talk about Evan."

"What makes you think I want to talk about Evan?" Casey asked.

"Because I just know," Rebecca said. "Evan probably talked to Cappie who talked to you to get you to talk to me."

"Okay, so maybe I do want to talk to you about Evan," Casey said. "Just tell me, have you talked to him since we all got back at all?"

"Just briefly when we landed back in Cyprus the day after New Years'," Rebecca sighed. "I told him I didn't want to break up and he just said he wants to know for sure where we stand. The truth is I can't say where we stand; I'm graduating in less than five months and until I start getting some acceptance letters, I don't know where I'm going to be after graduation."

"You know Evan's only a semester behind you," Casey said. "He's graduating from law school in December."

"Yeah, but it doesn't mean he's like Cappie and is just going to follow me wherever I go," Rebecca said.

"I think I know what the problem is," Casey said. "Deep down, you really want a future with Evan, but you think your lives are going in two different directions. But have you ever really talked about the future much? Other than when he tried to lavaliere you at New Years'."

"No, because I never thought it was a big deal," Rebecca said. "Or I didn't want to make it a big deal."

"It is a big deal now," Casey said. "You're growing up. Or at least you should be. You need to face reality and talk to him. If you don't, you're not going to be happy in the end."

"You know how long it took you and Cappie to get on the same page," Rebecca said.

"That was because Cappie was being stubborn at first," Casey said. "But now, you're being stubborn about not wanting to think about the future. You need to get over it and make things right with him; with everything you two have been through, you don't want to let it all go now. Just this once, take some advice from me as your big sister, and your friend."

"I'll consider it," Rebecca said. "That's all I'm giving you right now."

-GREEK-

"Are you coming or what?" Laura snapped at Rachel as they were preparing to leave the ZBZ house. "You said you'd help me get ready for this stupid philanthropy project."

"I'm coming, geez," Rachel said. "What's eating you? You've been extremely moody ever since I got back from break."

"Senioritis is a bitch," Laura said. "I'm sick of school, I'm sick of here, and all I want to do is move the hell on."

"Couldn't you have graduated last year?" Rachel asked. "Not that I wish you did; you are a pretty awesome big sis. That is when you're not acting like you want to kill someone."

"I could have, but no I had to decide to add on to my major," Laura said. "But you know I should have just graduated last year with what I had. Then maybe I wouldn't be in the situation I'm in right now!"

"And what's that?" Rachel asked. "An impatient fifth year senior? And why is this all of a sudden hitting you now; did something else happen?"

"No, nothing happened," Laura said firmly.

"Wait, that trip," Rachel said. "To Vegas. You haven't mentioned anything about that. Heck if I just got back from Vegas, I'd be talking nonstop. I saw Dale a couple times since I got back, and come to think of it he seemed just to be acting strange, too. Something happened with you guys on that trip; something you're trying to hide."

"Okay are you done trying to put two and two together?" Laura asked. "Because you're wrong. Nothing happened on that trip; it was, well, fun I guess."

"Fun you guess?" Rachel scoffed. "I know something happened, and I think my parents know about it, too."

"What did your parents tell you?" Laura asked quickly.

"They won't tell me anything," Rachel said. "But I know it's about Dale, and now I know it's gotta be about you, too. I'm not going to rest until I find out what it is."

"Well then you're not going to be resting anytime soon, then," Laura said. "If anything happened, and I'm not saying it did, people would find out on a need to know basis. And really, no one needs to know right now."

-GREEK-

"You awake there?" Spidey heard a voice say and saw someone waving a hand in front of his face. Snapping out of his daze, he looked up and saw Ashleigh.

"Oh hey, yeah just thinking," Spidey responded. "What's up?"

"Just trying to kill a half hour or so before class," Ashleigh said.

"I think I can kill it for you," Spidey said. "I really need some advice from a female."

"Well I am a female," Ashleigh said. "And a friend, and I'm pretty sure I know what this is about." She sat down across the table from him.

"Yeah, New Years'," Spidey said. "I talked to Kelsey this morning and she basically said she wants to forget the whole Vegas thing ever happened and go back to being friends. I just don't understand why she would do this to me and then think everything can just go back to normal afterwards."

"I know she didn't do it to try to hurt you," Ashleigh said. "I think she's just scared."

"Of what?" Spidey asked.

"Starting over," Ashleigh said. "Making a change. Sometimes the idea of change can seem great, but when it actually happens, it can scare the crap out of you. But sooner or later she's going to realize that letting go of the past, AKA her idiot of a boyfriend, may just be the best thing for her."

"I just don't know how much more I can take of this," Spidey said. "I feel like she's on a roller coaster, and she's dragging me along for the ride."

"Even though her intentions aren't bad, you're right," Ashleigh said. "She shouldn't be treating you like that. Let me try and talk to her. Or should I say try and talk to her _again_."

"You're not tired of acting like our go-between?" Spidey asked.

"I'm on your side here," Ashleigh said. "I really don't like Robert, and I thought you two would be great for each other ever since last year."

-GREEK-

"I'm so happy you two got engaged," Katie said to Cappie and Casey, who were over at her and Tom's apartment for dinner. "I knew you were a great couple when we first met you."

"Thanks," Casey smiled. "But now comes the hard part; actually planning a wedding."

"Yeah, I absolutely have no idea where to start," Cappie said. "All we know is we want to have it at CRU, since that's where we met and where our relationship began."

"What about that wedding planner we had?" Tom spoke up. "She put our wedding together in less than four months."

"Yes, how could I forget," Katie said and turned to Cappie and Casey. "We hired a lady that had been in the wedding planning business for over twenty years to do our wedding, and she was absolutely amazing. Whenever I was stressing over things like decorations or extra people deciding to show up at the last minute or whatever else, she was there to fix it. If it weren't for her, I think things with our wedding would have turned to utter chaos. I was what you might call an obsessive bride."

"Bridezilla?" Cappie asked jokingly.

"As my friends ever so kindly put it, yes," Katie laughed. "But she lives right here in D.C. and I've seen her a couple times since our wedding, so I could set you up a meeting with her if you'd like. She's done plenty of weddings that are outside this area, so that won't be a problem."

"I think it would be a good idea to talk to her," Casey said. "What do you think, Cap?"

"I'm all for it," Cappie said. "I'll be glad to leave the planning to someone else and just enjoy the occasion and the events leading up to it with my amazing fiancée."

"Great; I can give her a call in the morning and hopefully set you up with a meeting this week," Katie said.

-GREEK-

"You know I thought the trip to Vegas was supposed to bring us all together," Ashleigh said to Rusty as she entered his room that evening, where he was doing homework. "But instead it just seemed to tear everyone else apart. Well except for Cappie and Casey, who are hopefully going to be talking to a wedding planner this week."

"That's great; I wondered when they were going to get started on planning," Rusty said. "But as for everyone else, yeah I know what you mean. Something's going on with Dale and Laura, and Calvin was acting a bit bummed out about this being our last semester, but I think it's partly because he misses Heath, too. And Spidey told me about how things happened with him and Kelsey, and I know you're good friends with her, but she's really not my favorite person right now."

"I talked to him today, and I'm going to talk to her tomorrow," Ashleigh said. "I don't think it was right the way she treated him, either."

"No it wasn't right," Rusty said. "She basically used him, and really that's not the first time she's pulled something on him. If I saw her right now, I'd probably have to resist the urge to yell right in her face."

"I think it's sweet of you sticking up for your little brother like that," Ashleigh smiled. "But trust me; I'm definitely going to have a talk with her tomorrow."

"I'll let you handle it," Rusty said. "I just hope you can get through to her; you know she's about as stubborn as a mule."

"Oh believe me, I know that and that's half the problem," Ashleigh chuckled. "And going along with everyone's lives falling apart, I talked to Rebecca this afternoon, and she still hasn't seen Evan."

"Did they actually break up?" Rusty asked.

"I don't think they did," Ashleigh said. "But they've got some things to talk about, that's for sure."

"So how's Katherine holding up at your apartment?" Rusty asked.

"I don't really think she wants to be there," Ashleigh said. "She said she just wants Beaver to prove he can truly be a grown-up. She said he's been spending a lot of time at the school after school this past week. You don't have any idea why, do you?"

"Yeah actually I do," Rusty said. "And I think Katherine's going to like what he's doing."

-GREEK-

"Hey Cap, what's up?" Evan answered his phone that evening.

"Hey, so Casey and I went by ZBZ for a bit when we all got back from Vegas," Cappie began. "And I just realized today that I left my comb there."

"Your comb?" Evan asked.

"Yeah, you know the thing you use for your hair," Cappie said. "So I was hoping you could stop over there tomorrow morning, get it, and mail it out to me."

"You want me to mail you your comb?" Evan laughed. "Just go to WalMart and buy a new one for less than a dollar. And if you just realized you forgot it, what have you been using all week?"

"I used one of Casey's, and I just happened to remember where I left mine," Cappie said.

"Did Casey tell you to call me and try to send me over to the ZBZ house, just so I'd run into Rebecca?" Evan asked.

"Pssh, no," Cappie scoffed. "Okay, yes."

"Wow, Cap, you are so bad at this," Casey said, half jokingly. "Give me the phone. Evan, you and Rebecca need to talk about the future. She really didn't mean to hurt you; all she thinks is that your lives might be going in two different directions."

"She's never really talked about exactly where she wants to go after graduation," Evan said.

"But have you really asked her?" Casey asked. "She may be acting stubborn about this, but if you really want things to work out, you have to talk to her, too."

"Maybe springing the whole lavaliering thing on her at New Years' without really ever talking about the future before might not have been the best decision," Evan said.

-GREEK-

"We're actually both going into work at the same time today," Kelsey said to Ashleigh as they were heading to work the next morning. "I feel that hasn't happened much this year, with both of us taking classes at different times and whatnot."

"I know, crazy schedules," Ashleigh said. "Hey I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Shoot," Kelsey said.

"Why exactly did you let what happened between you two at New Years' happen?" Ashleigh asked.

"Because it seemed right," Kelsey said. "There I was, three thousand miles away from Robert and my family and it felt great. And then things just happened; I got caught up in the Las Vegas lifestyle, started drinking and buying him drinks, and that was that. Do you know he's the best guy friend I've had since like, second grade when my friend Jason who I met in kindergarten moved away? My parents never trusted any guys with me except for Robert."

"Well if he's your best guy friend, do you really think you should be treating him the way you are?" Ashleigh asked.

"What are you talking about?" Kelsey asked. "I told him yesterday we should just go back to being friends and forget about it. I admit I was a little wrong in how I went about things, but like I said, I just got caught up in the atmosphere."

"I don't think it's all that easy for a guy who finds out he drunkenly hooked up with his best friend to just forget about it and move on," Ashleigh said. "I can relate to what you're going through with Robert. You know I went through it with Travis during my junior year. But you can't keep leading another guy on like this, especially someone you're good friends with, or you might lose that friendship. When I was still with Travis, I realized I liked one of my friends, but I broke up with Travis before I went after him. My friend turned out to be gay and the feelings I had for him have long since been forgotten, but that's beside the point."

"Just when I think I'm ready to break up with Robert, something stops me," Kelsey said. "Whether it's a phone call from my parents, or him threatening me, or just me losing my nerve."

"Wait, what do you mean by threatening?" Ashleigh asked. "He's not, like…"

"No, he doesn't hit me or anything, if that's what you mean," Kelsey interrupted. "It's nothing, forget I even said that. But anyway, I'm going to do all I can to make things right after what happened in Vegas. I wouldn't trade my friends here for anything, and the last thing I want to do is hurt any of them."

-GREEK-

"Rebecca," Evan said, seeing her outside his door as he opened it. "I just got back from class and was on my way over to ZBZ to see if you were there."

"And I was just about to knock on your door before you walked out," Rebecca said. "I want to talk."

"I want to talk, too," Evan said. "Let's go in."

"When I said what I said when you tried to lavaliere me, I didn't mean I wanted to break up," Rebecca said.

"I hoped you didn't mean you wanted to break up," Evan said. "We're not broken up, are we?"

"I don't want to be," Rebecca said. "I never thought it was a big deal to 'be on the same page' or whatever with a guy. Whenever I dated someone, I just lived for the moment and didn't think about what the future would bring. But now, I really care about you and yes, I want us to still be together after I graduate and leave Cyprus."

"So, for starters, you really are leaving Cyprus after graduation?" Evan asked.

"I can't stay here," Rebecca said. "You will tell no one I said this, especially not Casey, but if I stayed here, then I'd probably end up like her and still want to be a part of ZBZ. And deciding to stay here for grad school and knowing I can't be a part of the house anymore would suck. If I actually leave, then I'd have no choice but to move on."

"You really do care about ZBZ," Evan said.

"More than I ever thought I would," Rebecca admitted.

"So where exactly do you want to go next year?" Evan asked.

"I'm actually thinking about going to grad school near D.C.," Rebecca said. "I applied to a school that has a two year forensic psychology program; if I get in I'm going to try it and see how it goes."

"That's great that you decided to go for it," Evan said. "And I mean, D.C. is only half a day's drive from Cyprus; Cappie and Casey are up here enough so it's not like we won't see each other."

"And you only have one semester left after I graduate, then what's next?" Rebecca asked.

"Next I guess it's the bar exam," Evan said. "The biggest test of them all. And then, if I'm not dead yet, I'll get to practice law. Heck, in December once I'm done here, I can move out to D.C. with you."

"Is that really where you want to go?" Rebecca asked. "Or are you saying that just for me?"

"No, I actually did think about working in D.C. when I was younger, and even when I was still in undergrad," Evan said. "The only difference is before I thought I wanted to get into the more political side of things, like Casey, but then I realized I wanted to practice, and I can do that there just as well as anywhere else. I really want to be with you and I don't want things to go wrong between us again like they have before. You said you never wanted to worry about the future before, so don't. If you're in this as much as I am, we're going to be fine."

"Yeah, we are," Rebecca said. "I'm sorry about New Years'; this whole graduation thing just got to my head I guess."

"Don't worry about it," Evan said. "I'm glad you're thinking about the future, and it's not like we have to have the rest of our lives planned out. I can learn to live in the moment, maybe just a little."

-GREEK-

"Come on in, you must be Casey and Cappie," a woman greeted as Casey and Cappie stepped inside her home office. "I'm Maurice and I'm excited to hear what you have in store for your wedding."

"We're actually still in the beginning stages of planning," Casey said. "We just got engaged at New Years' and all we know is we want to have the wedding at our campus where we went to college, because that's where we met. It's in Cyprus, Ohio. My grand-big sis in my sorority got married there, and there's a great venue on campus to host a wedding."

"That's a good start; having a location," Maurice said. "When Katie and Tom came to me, all they had picked out was a location, and I was able to help them put a wedding together in just about four months. Do you have any ideas on a time frame?"

"Well at first we were thinking late this year or early next," Cappie said. "But that was because we thought we'd have to plan it ourselves, and with our jobs and all that might take a while."

"Would you like to have it sooner?" Maurice asked.

"I wouldn't be opposed to it," Casey said. "We both agree that it'll be a relatively small wedding; just our families and CRU friends for the most part, and maybe a few people from here."

"I'd love to have it this spring," Cappie said. "If we could really make it happen."

"I think we can," Maurice said. "I don't have a particularly busy schedule right now. It's the second week of January now, so I could shoot for, say, like the first or second weekend in May. What do you think about that?"

"Graduation isn't until the last weekend in May; what do you think, Cap?" Casey asked. "I'd really like a spring wedding as opposed to a winter one."

"Then yes, we're getting married this spring," Cappie said. "You know that saying, if you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, you want the rest of your life to start right now? Since we got engaged, that's what I've been thinking."

"Aw, Cap, you know I can't wait either," Casey smiled. "Now we just have to tell my parents how soon this is happening. Between our wedding and Rusty's graduation, they might not have any money left by the end of May."

-GREEK-

"Guys, guess what," Rusty said as he approached Calvin and Dale at Dobler's. "That was Cappie and Casey who just called. They're getting married in May; two weeks before we graduate. My parents were surprisingly okay with it being so soon."

"Hey, that's great!" Calvin said excitedly. "That means I actually won't be halfway around the world for the wedding and I can go."

"Can we not talk about marriage right now?" Dale asked.

"Why, I know you had a bit of a thing for Casey, but I thought you knew that she and Cappie were most likely going to end up together," Calvin said.

"No, it's not about Casey," Dale said. "Cappie's my friend, and friends don't steal each other's girls."

"Then what is going on?" Rusty asked. "Something happened with you on the trip that you're not telling us. We want to help."

"What's done is done," Dale said. "There's really not much else that can fix it. I'm not one to make hasty decisions, but Sin City sucked me in and I'd been drinking and wasn't thinking and…" He trailed off.

"And you're a poet and don't know it," Calvin said. "Cut to the chase and tell us. We're your best friends; it's not like we're going to tell anyone else."

"Do you remember when I had sex with Sheila and then I asked her to marry me?" Dale asked.

"So wait, you had sex with Laura?" Rusty asked.

"Did you ask her to marry you afterwards?" Calvin asked.

"I didn't ask her," Dale said. "She suggested it, and I agreed. We actually got married; we were both under the influence, and we'd just won fifty thousand dollars at the casino."

"Are you being serious, or is this some kind of joke?" Rusty asked.

"I'm serious," Dale said. "You wanted to know what happened; that's what happened. And things were great with us the first few days actually. Nothing was different, except for the fact that I could have sex with her without feeling like I was slapping God in the face. And that's what I wanted."

"But now you're not happy about what you did?" Calvin asked.

"I don't know what to think," Dale said. "Her parents drove three hundred miles last week and basically chewed us both out about this. I've never seen anyone look as threatening as her father did that day; if for some reason he carried a handgun, I probably wouldn't be here right now."

"How'd her parents find out?" Rusty asked.

"For some reason our marriage licenses got sent to our houses instead of here to CRU," Dale said. "My parents just forward any mail that comes home in my name to me here, but apparently her parents read hers first. And then, her parents called my parents, and they seemed to reason with the situation a little better, but they're still not happy we went through with this so soon."

"They probably think you did it for the wrong reasons," Calvin said. "Do you think you did?"

"I thought so at the time," Dale said. "I mean, it's not like she's just some random girl who now doesn't even know her last name; she's my girlfriend who I've been with for over a year."

"Actually, she's your wife now," Calvin pointed out.

"What about grad school?" Rusty asked. "You said you've got at least three years left."

"Oh, I'm still going to grad school," Dale said. "Put in my applications over semester break, just like you. There are couples who are still in college or grad school when they get married."

"But are you sure this is what you really want?" Rusty asked.

"That's exactly what my parents kept saying over and over," Dale said. "Which is why they, along with Laura's parents, are making us go to counseling. Really, I don't need a counselor; nothing's wrong with me."

"Marriage counseling doesn't mean something's wrong with you," Calvin said. "I'm sure they just want you both to make sure that this is really what you want right now. I don't mean to be the Debbie Downer here, but marriage is a huge commitment; it's not just about having sex. You may think nothing's going to change, but eventually it's going to. But for your sake, I hope it all works out."

-GREEK-

"Come in," Katherine called as she heard a knock on the door of Ashleigh's apartment. The door opened and Beaver walked in.

"Working hard or hardly working?" Beaver asked her, noticing she was typing away on her laptop.

"Just finishing up this paper that's due tomorrow," Katherine said. "It's almost 6:00; were you at school late again?"

"Yeah, but I don't think I'll be staying this late anymore," Beaver began. "I might be there an extra hour or so, though. I brought back subs from the sub shop; take a break and let's have dinner."

"So can you tell me now what's been keeping you at the school so late?" Katherine asked. "Are you tutoring kids after school now?"

"Not exactly tutoring; more like planning for something," Beaver said. "We're starting an after school program for underprivileged kids, and I got the job as chairperson. We've been working on getting things going the past two weeks, and we officially kick it off on Monday."

"That's really great," Katherine said. "You just started planning this since we've been back?"

"Actually, some of the other teachers and I were talking about the idea before Christmas break," Beaver said. "And I started giving ideas, and then I ended up as chairperson. I really want you to know I'm trying my best to get back on my feet after the New Years' incident. This'll add a bit more to my paychecks, and I talked to my mom and she said she'll give me an IOU for a couple months, and then I'll pay her back."

"Wow, you really are trying," Katherine said.

"Yeah, I am," Beaver said. "Sure, I may get a little out of control when I'm with the guys, but I realize now that I completely went overboard at the casino, and anything like that isn't going to happen again."

"I just worry a lot when it comes to stability," Katherine said. "I plan everything down to the last minute or the last dollar, and tend to freak out when things don't go as planned, or when you tell me you can't put any money toward this month's rent."

"Well between my mom's IOU and the paycheck I'll be getting soon, I can actually pay this month's rent myself," Beaver said. "I may need some help on the food, that is, if you'll come back to our apartment. I mean, how comfortable can this futon be?"

"Honestly, not very," Katherine said. "I may have to see a chiropractor if I keep sleeping on it every night."

"Then come back," Beaver said. "I've never let you down before, and I don't plan on it. I can show you stability, if you can trust me."

-GREEK-

"I really have a good feeling about our wedding planner," Cappie said to Casey as they were walking toward their apartment. "At the beginning of the week we weren't even sure where to begin, and today we just sent out about fifty 'save the date' notices."

"I am really glad we got things going and we're getting married in May," Casey said. "I know the more time we spend thinking about the wedding and planning it, the more I'm going to stress out about it, so it's a good thing that we've got someone helping us and we won't have to plan it for like a year from now."

"I'm glad we're having it in May," Cappie agreed. "I'm sure if we were having some big, extravagant wedding, it might take a while to put together. But I don't need something big and fancy. All I need is you and me vowing to be together forever, and our family and friends celebrating with us."

"I told you before about these dream weddings I thought up at different times when I was growing up," Casey said. "But really, all I need for my real dream wedding is to marry the right man. And now, I know I'm going to be doing that."

"I sure hope you know that," Cappie chuckled and put an arm around her. "I can't imagine what my life would be like now if I couldn't have you in it."

"Well you don't have to think about that," Casey smiled. "It's just you and me for the rest of our lives; we're going to be like the power couple."

"That's right we are," Cappie said. "So watch out, world!"

A/N: And there you have it; sorry for the delay and hope you enjoy! Some things that happened in chapter 10 are coming to a resolution, and others not just yet. But hopefully this chapter helped set the scene a bit for the second half of the story, as graduation gets closer and Cappie and Casey prepare for their wedding! :) I decided I really wanted to write the wedding in this story so that's my plan.

The one chapter per week thing I had going this summer might not happen now that I'm back to school, but I'd like to aim for updates every other week, and sooner if at all possible!


	12. It's My Party

Episode #12: It's My Party

Setting: About two weeks after #11

Synopsis: A party mishap at the KT house causes consequences, and Cappie and Casey get a surprise from the members of their wedding party.

-GREEK-

"Okay, pledges, are you ready to go skiing this weekend?" Rusty asked the group of pledges.

"YEAH!" they all cheered.

"Your pledge class ski trip is all about bonding as a pledge class," Rusty said. "And it's a celebration, of sorts, of everything you've done so far. Since there are so many of you this year, we chartered a bus for you to use."

"Finally, a weekend to ourselves with no pledge work," they heard a pledge whisper.

"I heard that," Anthony Hopkins said. "And you don't leave til tomorrow; you've still got a lot to do before you leave on Friday. For starters, go outside and give us fifty."

"Pushups?" Pledge Barf groaned.

"Laps, around the house," Anthony Hopkins said.

"What, are we in some kind of training camp now?" Pledge Barney whispered.

"You can think of it as training camp in a way," Rusty said, hearing him. "Greek Week is less than a month away, you know, which means it's time to get into shape."

"So go, now!" Anthony Hopkins ordered the pledges as he and Rusty shooed them out of the house.

-GREEK-

"I still think there are better places to get married than here," Rebecca said to Ashleigh as they were both checking out the venue for Casey and Cappie's wedding.

"Yeah, I'm sure there are," Ashleigh said. "But CRU was where they met and how they came to be; that's why they wanted the wedding here."

"CRU was where I met Evan," Rebecca began. "But if I ever married him, hypothetically speaking right now, I wouldn't want to get married here. Anyway, why are you taking pictures of the place; haven't Casey and Cappie both seen it?"

"They're for Maurice, their wedding planner," Ashleigh said as she snapped a few pictures. "Since I'm here and they're there, I'm being a good MOH and helping out from this end. And since I can't do everything myself and you're a bridesmaid too, you've got to help me. Besides the actual wedding there's the bridal shower and the bachelorette party that have to happen sometime before the wedding."

"Well if we don't help her she's probably going to go all Kiki and threaten to rip out our throats and tinkle down our necks," Rebecca said. "I can see her becoming a control freak about the wedding and making sure everything is perfect."

"Right now she's handling it really well," Ashleigh said. "But I'm sure she wants things to be perfect; I mean it's her wedding, the only one she's ever going to have. Which is why I'm ready to do all it takes to help make this the best day of her life, and I hope you are too; after all, what are best friends for."

-GREEK-

"What are you doing here, in a science lab?" Spidey asked Kelsey as he was surprised to see her walk in the lab where he was working.

"I decided on taking my lab science requirement this semester to get it out of the way," Kelsey said. "And thanks to me being scientifically illiterate, I didn't finish my lab during lab, so I got stuck having to work on it now."

"What class did you end up taking?" Spidey asked.

"I'm taking the introductory chemistry class for non-science majors, and it's still giving me a pretty rough time," Kelsey said. "I'm a marketing person; I'm supposed to come up with some scheme to sell people like you a bunch of chemicals so you can do the sciencey stuff. Sometimes I'm afraid I'm going to like blow up the building or something from mixing the wrong chemicals."

"You know if you need some help, I can help you out," Spidey said.

"Really, I would love you forever if you could," Kelsey said a little too excitedly. "Uh, and by that I mean it would be awesome if you could help me get an A in the class; even a B would be good with me. I'm so dumb when it comes to science; I'm probably taking a class now that you took in junior high."

"I took intro to chem as a freshman in high school, but anyway," Spidey began. "Don't say you're dumb; that's not true. Some things just come easier to some people than others. You know in elementary school, I was the world's worst speller. My third grade teacher even made me get private tutoring."

"I've had to go to tutoring for pretty much every science class I've taken," Kelsey said, starting to look around the lab. "This lab is really different from the one we use in class; it's so…much more hi-tech."

"Well it is the engineering lab," Spidey said. "I wondered why out of all the science buildings on campus, you decided to come to the engineering building to work on your introductory chemistry lab."

"Okay, maybe it was because I was hoping to find you here," Kelsey said. "I was about ready to get down on my knees and beg for help with this class."

"Consider me your personal tutor for the semester," Spidey said. "I'm about done here anyway for the day; let's head over to the chemistry lab."

"Okay, thanks so much," Kelsey said. "Hey are we okay, I mean as friends? Things have been better the past couple of weeks, but I just want to make sure there are no hard feelings."

"I think we're good now," Spidey said. "What can I say; I can't stay mad at my friends, even if they do something that's completely messed up. I'm not sure if that's a blessing or a curse."

"In my case, I'll say it's a blessing," Kelsey said. "And I swear on my life that I won't pull anything again to mess up our friendship, because if I did, I don't think I'd have the heart to even ask for another chance."

-GREEK-

"I am beyond thrilled that Casey asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding," Katherine said to Beaver as they walked down the street. "I've never been in a wedding before, mostly because no one I was particularly close to has ever gotten married."

"Being in a wedding will be something new for me, too," Beaver said. "The last wedding I was at was my cousin's when I was a senior in high school. I remember thinking he was absolutely nuts for wanting to spend the rest of his life with one person when he was only twenty two years old. But now I get it; he'd found the love of his life, just like Cappie found in Casey, and I found in you."

"That's really sweet and I think the same about you," Katherine smiled. "I always thought Cappie and Casey were total opposites; well, you and I are pretty much total opposites, too, and sometimes we argue because of that. But really, when I think about it I think it would be pretty boring if we were the same person."

"As someone once said, opposites attract," Beaver said. "I think it means we balance each other out pretty well. Which is why we can work together to throw this engagement party for Cappie and Casey on such short notice, but still make it planned out well."

"Yeah, and I have to ask, do we really have to have it at Gentleman's Choice?" Katherine asked.

"It is the one place we can get on a few days' notice, and being friends with Wade, who's also friends with the groom-to-be, it'll be free," Beaver said as they walked in the door to Gentleman's Choice.

"Hey y'all," Wade greeted them. "What brings you here this early in the evening?"

"We were hoping to have Cappie and Casey's engagement party here on Saturday," Beaver said. "They don't know about it yet, but hey, it's gonna be a great surprise."

"You know you can have it here," Wade said. "So if they don't know about it, how are you getting them up here?"

"I'm giving Casey a little bit of a wedding freak out and saying the venue where they want to have the wedding is booked," Katherine said.

"And that'll make her drag Cap up here this weekend to pick a new place," Beaver said.

"I think for a bride, that'll be a huge wedding freak out," Wade said. "But it'll be so worth it."

"True that," Beaver said.

-GREEK-

"Hey, what's this I heard about a scavenger hunt for the pledges tonight?" Calvin asked Dale at the Omega Chi house the next morning.

"Oh yeah, I planned this game for the pledges called Flashlight Scavenger Hunt," Dale said. "Actually, I just thought of it yesterday so I've got to finish making the lists and getting ready for it after class this afternoon."

"I thought you and Laura had your first counseling meeting this afternoon," Calvin said.

"I'll just say I have a prior commitment and cancel it," Dale said.

"But I think you planned this 'prior commitment' with the pledges as a way to get out of going," Calvin said. "I'll help get ready for the scavenger hunt this afternoon; you go to your counseling meeting."

"But I don't want to go," Dale said.

"Wow, you sound like a little kid about to go to the dentist for the first time," Calvin chuckled. "But this is not getting your teeth drilled; it's marriage counseling, and I for one think you need to go talk to someone other than me and Rusty about this."

"So one of my best friends is telling me I need professional help," Dale said. "But really, she doesn't want to go any more than I do. We're fine, honestly."

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I think something possessed you to go through with this marriage thing in Vegas," Calvin said. "You don't normally make hasty decisions, but this time you made a life changing one. I just don't want to see things completely blow up between you and Laura. You're going to your appointment, and I'm walking down with both of you to make sure you get there. And you'll be back in plenty of time to lead the pledges in tonight's scavenger hunt."

-GREEK-

"Cap, I've got some bad news," Casey said in a slight panic when Cappie answered his phone.

"Is it wedding-related bad?" Cappie asked.

"Yes, I just got a call from the event coordinator of what was supposed to be our venue for the wedding," Casey said.

"What do you mean by 'supposed to be'?" Cappie asked, sounding a bit worried now.

"Apparently the place has been double booked," Casey said. "And the other group who booked it did before us, so they got it. Katherine called me last night about it, but I really thought she was just joking. You know, like seeing what it would take for me to freak out. Well, the fact that we now have nowhere to have the wedding is making me freak out!"

"Calm down, Case, that doesn't mean we're not going to find another place," Cappie tried to assure her. "I'll be home later tonight, and then tomorrow we'll make an impromptu trip to Cyprus to scope out some other venues."

"Well wherever we find, it has to be someplace nice," Casey said.

"I'm sure it will be, but even if it's not, it won't matter," Cappie said. "We could get married in the backyard of the KT house and I'd still be happy as long as I'm marrying you."

"Aw, I'm sorry if I'm shattering your dream wedding plans, Cap, but I really don't want to get married in the KT backyard," Casey joked.

"Nah, neither do I really," Cappie laughed. "That's more of a place for the bachelor party, not the wedding. But the point is that everything's going to work out just fine. Remember what we said, no stress."

"No stress," Casey repeated to reassure herself.

"I promise you we're going to find a place, and a good one, this weekend," Cappie said.

-GREEK-

"So I guess what I really want you to talk about today is why," a middle-aged lady said to Dale and Laura, who were in her office. "You're both soon to be college grads, and I have seen a fair number of college couples who get engaged during their senior year, and then get married the summer after graduation. But what made you want to get married on impulse on a trip to Las Vegas? I've seen that happen to people as well, and sometimes, things don't end well with the couple. I hope that doesn't happen for you; I'm sure that's why your parents sent you to me, but anyway, tell me what you were thinking."

"For starters, we won fifty thousand dollars at a casino," Laura said.

"Please don't tell me you spent it all to get married," the counselor said.

"No, most of it we used to pay off our student loans, and some for my research fund," Dale said. "We only used a couple thousand to get married."

"So was that why you did it?" the counselor asked. "Because suddenly you had the money."

"Well if you really want me to be blunt," Dale began. "My thought at the time was that I wanted to have sex without feeling like I was slapping God in the face."

"So you wanted to have sex, and you thought that getting married before was the right thing to do religiously," the counselor said, and then turned to Laura. "What about you?"

"I didn't want to graduate a 22 year-old virgin," Laura said.

"You know, going to a school that has a party environment like CRU will make you think that every single college student has had sex," the counselor said. "But in reality, that's not true. So basically from what you're telling me, you both decided to get married for purely sexual reasons."

"Well when you put it like that, it doesn't sound like the best thing," Dale said.

"I'm going to be honest and say I don't think it was the best decision for you both," the counselor said. "You both seem smart, you've done well academically during your time at CRU, and I'm sure you're thinking about grad school and starting your careers. But now you're facing this huge milestone in your personal relationship, and I'm going to work with you to help you try to maintain your relationship when you're also facing a time that will bring many other changes to both of your lives-graduation from college."

-GREEK-

"Hello," Rusty answered his phone that evening, seeing it was one of the pledges calling him. They had left on their ski trip a few hours prior.

"Hey this is Flash; we really need some help," the pledge said. "Our bus broke down and the driver can't get another one out here until sometime tomorrow."

"Where are you right now?" Rusty asked.

"That's a good question," Flash said. "We're basically in the middle of nowhere; there are no bathrooms here or no places to eat. The Three Stooges ate all of the Cheesaritos we packed, so can you please come and get us before we all starve full of pee."

"We can't come and get you if we don't know where you are," Rusty said. "Do you at least know what street you're on?"

"Yeah, but our bus driver got us so far lost that even the GPS doesn't know where we are," the pledge said. "We should never use Cyprus Rent-A-Bus again. But we all know Alfred Hitchcock has a good sense of direction; I'm sure he can tell you the exact turns we've made since we left Cyprus."

"Okay, I'll see what I can do and call you back," Rusty said and hung up. "GUYS!" The brothers who weren't in the living room came in then. "The pledges broke down in the middle of nowhere so we've got to find a way to get them. Since Cyprus Rent-A-Bus wasn't much help for them, we need another option."

"Hey, we could all go on a road trip and take our spring break bus," Dump Truck spoke up. "I did get my CDL last summer after all."

"Sure, let's do it," Rusty said. "It's either that or finish watching this really bad CRU football game."

-GREEK-

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Spidey asked, coming up to the front of the bus, that was now traveling down a road as it was getting pretty dark.

"Yeah we are; I know Pledge Alfred Hitchcock has good sense of direction," Dump Truck said.

"Well didn't you see that sign back there that said '15 miles to Indiana'?" Spidey asked. "The place they were skiing at is still in Ohio. And why are we on some dirt road and not on the highway anymore?"

"Are you sure you didn't make a wrong turn somewhere?" Rusty spoke up.

"No, I didn't make a wrong turn; see, here's the next road he said to turn on," Dump Truck said, and turned onto what seemed to be another dirt road. "We're not going to Indiana."

"Look out, there's a tree," Rusty tried to warn.

"I know; there's a lot of trees around here, wherever around here is," Dump Truck said.

"And you're about to drive right into one!" Spidey yelled, which finally caused Dump Truck to slam on the brakes.

"Now who the heck would plant a tree in the middle of a road?" Dump Truck asked.

"I'm not so sure this is actually a road," Rusty said.

"Okay, where the heck are we?" a brother spoke up from the back of the bus.

"It's a little too dark to tell, but I think we might be in some sort of woods," Rusty announced.

"We're lost in the woods?" Pickle asked, sounding worried. "I've seen this on TV, and what happens next is some killer comes out and we're all gonna die, dude we're all gonna die!"

"We're not gonna die," Rusty said. Before he could say anymore, a crash could be heard from some distance behind them, causing some of the brothers to scream.

"We're gonna DIE!" Pickle exclaimed again.

"Relax, it was probably just an animal," Rusty said. "Let's all get out and look around with a flashlight, and try to see if there's a house around."

"Are you crazy; I'm not going out there," Pickle said. "I don't want to get attacked." Some of the other brothers agreed.

"If we all go, then each one of us has a lesser chance of being attacked," Spidey said.

"He's right," Rusty said. "Everybody, off the bus." Soon everyone got off and they used the few flashlights they found to look around.

"Hey guys, I don't think this was shut when we came in," Anthony Hopkins said, and shined a flashlight on a closed gate that was right at the spot where they turned onto the road.

"Great, now even if we knew where we were, we can't get out of here," Dump Truck said. "This gate blocks the entire path."

"But somebody must have closed the gate, so that means there's people around here," Rusty said. "People who probably didn't see us drive in, and who can open the gate for us and tell us where we are. Now all we have to do is find their house somewhere in all these trees."

"Found it," Spidey said, shining a flashlight on a camper-trailer that was sitting on a small hill. "Well it's not exactly their house, but it's their camper. So this must be some family's campground."

"I'm not sure why they'd be camping in the middle of January, but that really doesn't matter to us," Rusty said, as he and some of the brothers walked toward the camper. "It's dark inside; I think they might be asleep."

"Not anymore," Dump Truck said, and knocked loudly on the front door.

"I don't think they're in there," Anthony Hopkins said, after no one answered the door.

"That means they're out here somewhere," Pickle said. "Planning an attack to try to kill us! I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm going back on the bus."

"I'm just going to call for help," Rusty said, and took out his cell and tried to dial, but had no luck. "No service. Anyone else have service?"

"I don't, either," Spidey said, and many other brothers shook their heads after checking their phones.

"I guess we might have to just wait this one out on the bus until morning," Rusty said. "Good thing we brought snacks."

-GREEK-

"Hey Calvin, have you seen Rusty?" Ashleigh asked back at CRU when he ran into Calvin.

"Wait, he's not back?" Calvin asked. "He said after he got back from helping the pledges he was meeting you, and then we were all meeting at Dobler's. I was just on my way there."

"Yeah, he was supposed to be back by now," Ashleigh said. "And I couldn't reach his cell."

"Something else must have happened," Calvin said. "Let's walk over to KT and see if anyone's there." They arrived at KT and noticed the house was completely dark.

"I guess they're just not back yet," Calvin said, and tried to open the door. "Yeah, it's locked."

"I hope they're just stuck in traffic or something," Ashleigh said. "And nothing else happened."

"I'm sure that's probably what happened," Calvin said. "Or they got lost somewhere with no cell service."

"If they got lost somewhere with no cell service, they must be pretty far lost," Ashleigh said.

"I actually know where that ski resort is," Calvin said. "I went there as a pledge and I was driving a few of my pledge brothers, and we got lost."

"Rusty's got a GPS, so hopefully they're finding their way back," Ashleigh said. "If they're not back in a while, though, then I'll really be worried."

"It'll be fine," Calvin said. "How about we go over to Dobler's?"

"Yeah, let's go," Ashleigh said.

-GREEK-

"Hey guys," Calvin greeted Rebecca and Evan when he and Ashleigh saw them at Dobler's.

"Hey, so are you ready for Case and Cap's engagement party tomorrow?" Ashleigh asked.

"Yeah; how'd you end up getting them to come here?" Evan asked.

"Katherine told them that the venue was double booked, but they didn't believe her," Ashleigh said. "So she asked the manager to call them and tell them, and she did."

"Not bad," Rebecca said. "I'm sure that caused Casey to freak a little, though."

"Yeah, but I'm sure Cappie won't let her stress too much," Ashleigh said. "And Katherine wants all the bridesmaids and groomsmen to say a little something at the party."

"Do we really have to do the whole speech thing?" Rebecca asked. "I'm not ready to get all sentimental this early before the wedding."

"Casey's your big sis, and you'd be lying if you said you didn't want to be a bridesmaid," Calvin spoke up. "Because I remember you telling me in Vegas that if Casey didn't make you a bridesmaid, you'd bring hell on her wedding."

"Okay, so I wanted this," Rebecca said. "But you know how I get about actually admitting to things; I don't just walk up to people and say hey, I appreciate you."

"But I know you have a way of showing you do," Ashleigh said. "Just say something fun if you want, and let me be the one who's trying not to cry."

"Besides, if everyone was over-emotional, it wouldn't be much of a party," Evan said. "No offense, Ash."

"It's fine," Ashleigh said. "My best friend is going to be getting married; I know I'm going to cry at the wedding, but hopefully I won't tomorrow."

"There's nothing wrong with that," Calvin said. "Hey, I'm not afraid to admit that I'll probably cry at graduation."

-GREEK-

"Oh my God, where the hell are our pledges!" Laura shouted exasperated as she and Dale walked quickly down Greek Row. "Pledges are seriously worse to manage than five year olds. You take your eyes off of them for two seconds and then they're gone!"

"Our pledges were supposed to be back at the house three hours ago for the game I set up," Dale said. "And they're nowhere to be found. This can only mean bad news."

"Wait, why are there campus security officers at the Kappa Tau house?" Laura asked as they neared the KT house. "That's the first place we looked for the pledges earlier, and no one was there."

"I don't know, but I really don't like the looks of this," Dale said. "Let's go find out." They walked over to a few officers who were talking in the front yard of the KT house. "Is everything okay here, officers?"

"Are you a member of this fraternity?" the officer asked.

"No, I'm an Omega Chi," Dale said.

"Are you with a sorority?" the officer asked Laura.

"Yeah, Zeta Beta Zeta," Laura said. "Really, what's going on?"

"You two just hang tight," the officer said. Just then, they saw Officer Huck and another officer walk outside of the Kappa Tau house, with who looked like a group of pledges following them.

"Hey, those are some of our pledges!" Dale exclaimed, seeing some Omega Chi pledges in the group.

"And those are some of ours!" Laura said, seeing some ZBZ pledges.

"Nobody move!" Officer Huck ordered the group of pledges, and then walked over to Dale and Laura. "I'm guessing some of these are yours."

"Yeah, what's going on?" Dale asked.

"There was an unauthorized party with alcohol going on in the basement of this house," Officer Huck said. "It was started by the pledges of Kappa Tau with no active members present. And three pledges were caught streaking on campus as a dean's reception was letting out; I don't know right now if any of them are yours. They're being held in the campus security office."

"I can't believe this," Dale said with a sigh. "I can take mine that are here if that's okay. I'm the pledge educator; I promise they'll be punished."

"Oh, they're going to be punished by the university," Officer Huck said. "You can both take your groups and reprimand them, and your houses will be contacted regarding the punishment. But I'd get help if I were you; some of them are not particularly sober."

"This cannot be good," Laura said once Officer Huck walked away.

-GREEK-

"I just got a call from Dale," Calvin said back at Dobler's, walking back over to the table. "Something's going on at the KT house involving our pledges; he said to get over there right away."

"Laura just texted me, saying 'get your butt to Kappa Tau now; Abby and I need more help with the pledges'," Rebecca said, looking at her phone. Just then, Ashleigh's phone rang.

"Hello," Ashleigh answered.

"This is Officer Huck at campus security calling," Officer Huck said on the other line. "I'm going to need you to get down to our office right away. Nobody's hurt, but there's been an incident at Kappa Tau and we'd like to talk to you."

"Um, yeah I'll be right there," Ashleigh said and hung up, and then turned to her friends again. "That was Officer Huck; he told me to come down to campus security. It's about KT."

"This sounds like something fishy is going on," Evan commented.

"I better get down there," Ashleigh said. "If they're calling me, they must not have been able to reach Rusty, either."

"Let us know what you find out," Calvin said.

"Yeah, I'll call you later," Ashleigh said. "Good luck with your pledges, guys." She said goodbye and made her way toward campus security. Just then, her phone rang again and she looked at the caller ID. "Oh, thank God, it's Rusty."

-GREEK-

"Hello!" Rusty shouted through his phone as he was still somewhere in the dark woods. "Can you hear me?"

"Hello?" Ashleigh asked, not hearing him as it was a bad connection. "Are you there?"

"Can you hear me now?" Rusty asked, moving around a little to try to get a signal.

"I can't hear you," Ashleigh responded back.

"What about now?" Rusty asked, walking in another direction. She didn't respond. "Okay, now?"

"You sound like a Verizon commercial, Spitter," Anthony Hopkins, who was shining a flashlight toward him, said. "I don't think it's going to work."

"No, hey I can hear you a little," Rusty said finally, and stopped walking.

"…Hear me…got call…campus security…you lost?" was all Rusty could hear Ashleigh say.

"Yeah, we're lost," Rusty said, but Ashleigh didn't respond. "Hello." He pulled the phone away from his ear to look at it, and saw the call was dropped.

"Did you get through?" Spidey asked, getting off the bus and joining them.

"Barely, I couldn't hear much," Rusty said. "I think she asked if we were lost, and she said something about a call from campus security."

"Maybe campus security is sending someone looking for us," Anthony Hopkins said. "We're saved!"

"I don't think campus security would send out the police since we've only been gone a few hours," Rusty said. "But you know what I'm starting to think? I think the pledges meant to do this to us."

"You think our own pledges pulled this on us?" Spidey asked.

"Yeah, this obviously isn't the place they got lost," Rusty said. "They probably didn't even get lost. They could be back at the house now doing who knows what. What if that call from campus security was about something happening back at the house? We've gotta try to find a way out of here tonight."

"We could walk up the road and try to find the nearest gas station," " Spidey said.

"Yeah, there might be one, oh, about fifty miles up the road," Anthony Hopkins said sarcastically. "Besides, if we walk off into the night and get killed, we'll never be able to get back at the pledges."

-GREEK-

"Officer, what's going on?" Ashleigh asked the officer on duty once she arrived at campus security.

"We have the pledges of Kappa Tau in custody," the officer said. "We couldn't reach any of the officers of the fraternity, and you were one of Mr. Cartwright's emergency contacts, so that's why Huck called you in. After he called you, he talked to the pledges, and they admitted to purposely getting the active members lost in a remote area with no cell phone service. Apparently it's the campground of the one named Alfred Hitchcock's older brother."

"So Rusty and the guys are okay then," Ashleigh said with relief.

"I believe they're just fine," the officer said. "Alfred had told his brother to lock the gate at the camp so they couldn't leave, hide so they couldn't find him, and not to open the gate until tomorrow morning. Now we've got him trying to reach someone that can get them out."

"So the whole thing was a pledge prank," Ashleigh said.

"And one that they're going to be punished for, given the circumstances," the officer said. "A party with alcohol where everyone present was underage; that's a major violation. And pledges from a few other houses were caught streaking as a dean's event was letting out. That's what led us to finding the undercover party at Kappa Tau."

"So what's going to happen to them?" Ashleigh asked.

"Oh, that's being decided as we speak," the officer said. "The houses will find out tomorrow."

"Alfred got someone to reach his brother, so the boys of Kappa Tau are on their way back," Officer Huck said, entering the lobby, and then turned to Ashleigh. "You're free to go; I was going to ask you about Mr. Cartwright's whereabouts, but that's not necessary now."

"Okay, well thanks for telling me what happened," Ashleigh said.

-GREEK-

"Well, congratulations!" Rusty shouted angrily to the KT pledges the next day. "You succeeded in getting basically every pledge in the Greek system suspended from the Greek system, including yourselves!"

"Suspended?" Pledge Curly asked in dismay. "For how long?"

"Everyone who was at the party last night is getting a month's suspension from all Greek activities," Rusty said.

"Well, at least it's only a month," Pledge Larry said.

"I wasn't finished," Rusty said. "Because you threw this party, all KT pledges are suspended from the Greek system for the rest of the year!"

"Are you serious?" Pledge Moe asked in horror.

"What the heck were you thinking!" Rusty asked. "First of all, how'd you even get in the house? We locked it when we went out supposedly looking for you, and none of you have keys! And second, you were supposed to be skiing this weekend!"

"We got in through the window in the kitchen," Pledge Barney said. "It's a little loose."

"And we thought this would be better than skiing," Pledge Barf said. "Taking over the house for ourselves and throwing a massive all-pledge party with the other houses' pledges. Everyone loved the idea."

"Yeah, and I'm sure they're all loving it now, being on suspension," Rusty said sarcastically. "And streaking at a dean's event? Three pledges got suspended from the university for that! Yeah, we're KTs and we do crazy stuff like stealing Christmas decorations and pulling pranks, but getting busted like this is not okay!"

"We just wanted to do it for fun and hey, I'll admit that we wanted to pull a pledge prank," Pledge Alfred Hitchcock said. "We honestly didn't mean for things to get out of hand. We broke out all the alcohol you guys had stored in the basement. So we were playing this drinking game and the losers of each round had to streak across campus, and it must've been the fifth round where the three pledges were caught by the deans, but they were from another house."

"Well this isn't over, but I've got somewhere I'm really supposed to be right now," Rusty said. "I suggest you all be on your best behavior if we're going to have any chance of getting the suspension lifted."

"So you think there's a way to get us off suspension?" Alfred Hitchcock asked eagerly.

"I don't know yet, but if and when it happens," Rusty began. "It's not going to be easy for any of you until initiation, let me tell you that."

-GREEK-

"Case, Cap," Rusty greeted with a smile as he walked into their engagement party, hugging them both. "It's so great to see you guys right now. Sorry I'm late; I'm sure someone's filled you in on what happened."

"Yeah, we heard," Casey said. "Here, you look like you need this more than me." She handed him the rest of her drink, which he downed rather quickly.

"I really did need a drink," Rusty said with a laugh.

"The whole pledge suspension thing has happened before," Cappie said. "Give the deans some time to cool off, and then start kissing up and you might be able to get it lifted."

"I hope so," Rusty said. "I'm not happy about how this happened, but at the same time I'm not about to lose an entire pledge class again; we already went through that last year. Anyway, enough about house stuff for now. What do you think of the party?"

"First, let me just say I'm so glad the deal with the venue wasn't true," Casey said. "Yeah, it made me nervous I'll admit, but being surprised with this was worth the unnecessary stress."

"This was so awesome of you guys, and you know I'm never not happy about making a trip to Cyprus," Cappie said. Just then they heard the sound of someone tapping the microphone and then a voice came over it.

"Hey everyone," it was Calvin who was talking over the mic. "Thanks for coming out to celebrate Cappie and Casey's engagement and the start of the countdown to their wedding. I'll be your MC for the next few minutes and introduce the bridesmaids and groomsmen, who each have a little something to say. First up in the wedding party are Evan Chambers and Rebecca Logan." Rebecca and Evan walked up next to Calvin as people in the room clapped, and Rebecca took the mic from him.

"When I found out Casey and Cappie got engaged on New Years'," Rebecca said. "The first thing I thought was that if she didn't make me a bridesmaid, I was going to rip out her throat and tinkle down her neck." Some of the people gave her strange looks. "Something I learned from my great grand big sis. Anyway, basically what that means is that I really wanted this, so thanks big sis, and let the fun begin." She handed the mic to Evan.

"When I was in college, if anyone told me that I'd someday be in Cappie's wedding, I would have laughed right in that person's face," Evan said. "Heck, if that person said that Casey would actually end up marrying Cappie, I would have laughed at that, too. But now, things have obviously changed for the better and Cappie and Casey getting married is the way it should be, and you guys both deserve this. And I couldn't be happier to be a part of the wedding. It really means a lot, Cap." Evan handed the mic back to Calvin, as the crowd clapped while Rebecca and Evan went over to Cappie and Casey.

"I remember telling him in the past that he could be friends with Cappie again, and he did in fact laugh at me," Calvin told the crowd and chuckled. "And next up we have Walter Boudreaux, or better known to most of us as Beaver, and Katherine Parker." Katherine took the mic from Calvin.

"I've never been anyone's bridesmaid before," Katherine began. "And it meant so much when Casey asked me to be one of hers because she really has been one of the best friends I've had in my entire life. That's why I got Walter to help me put this party together. Casey, you're the best and you deserve to be happy, and I hope you and Cappie are happy with the way this party turned out today." She handed the mic to Beaver.

"I've gotta say, Cap, I've had this feeling for a while that I'd be in your wedding someday," Beaver said. "And it was all because of seeing you and Casey together. I'm happy for ya, and let me tell you that your wedding is going to be epic! I'm gonna make sure of that." Beaver handed the mic back to Calvin as the crowd clapped. Beaver and Katherine went to join Cappie and Casey.

"I have a feeling it's going to be pretty epic, too," Calvin said. "And last but certainly not least, we have the two people who I know are going to be the glue that brings this wedding all together. Give it up for the best man and maid of honor, Rusty Cartwright and Ashleigh Howard." Ashleigh took the mic from Calvin.

"Wow, there's really so much I could say right now," Ashleigh began. "But to avoid getting all over-emotional at what's supposed to be a party, I'll save some of it for my actual wedding speech. Case, I couldn't be happier that I'm your maid of honor and I'm going to be there for you through everything with the wedding and beyond, just like I hope I have been for the past five and a half years we've been best friends. And seeing you and Cappie now just makes me wish I had more faith in your relationship than I did when we were in college. But now, I do have that faith in you both, and I know you're going to be together for the rest of your lives." She smiled over at Casey and Cappie and handed the mic to Rusty. "Take this or I'll never stop talking."

"I have a lot I could say to you guys, too," Rusty began. "But like Ash, I think I'll save some of it for the wedding. You both have been there for me so much these past four years, and I hope you know just how much that means to me. I remember when I found out you two got together during my sophomore year, and I said that I was so happy that my big bro was dating my big sis. I wanted you both to be happy, and I could tell that you were happy together. That still holds true today; I couldn't be happier that you're getting married, and it really is an honor to be able to stand up there with you at the wedding." Rusty handed the mic back to Calvin and smiled at Cappie and Casey, and he and Ashleigh went to join them as the crowd applauded.

"Okay, now that we all know the wedding party," Calvin announced. "Let's get the party going up in here." Calvin stopped talking and the DJ began playing music.

"I love you guys!" Casey said happily, hugging Rusty and Ashleigh when they walked over. "We really couldn't imagine this wedding without you."

"We love you, too," Rusty smiled. "And like we said, we're happy to be a part of it. It's going to be an amazing time for all of us."

"That's a fact," Cappie said with a smile.

"I've got shots for the wedding party and the bride and groom to be!" Beaver said happily, walking over with a tray of shots, followed by Katherine, Rebecca, and Evan.

"I want to make the toast!" Katherine said excitedly as everyone was taking a shot glass. "Today marks the official start of the countdown to your wedding, and as your friends and family and bridesmaids and groomsmen, we can't wait to share every step of the way with you. Cheers to the happy couple!"

"Cheers!" everyone clinked their glasses and took their shots.

A/N: Let the wedding countdown begin! And now we've got more things happening, some things starting to come together, and still more to come. Like I mentioned I'm going to try to update every few weeks if at all possible, but don't be alarmed if I go a little longer without a new chapter, although I hope that doesn't happen. If it does, it probably means schoolwork is piling up on me, but don't worry about me forgetting about the story because I'm not going to. :) I want to finish this so badly and I'm super excited for when it comes time to write the chapters for Casey/Cappie's wedding and Rusty's graduation!

Leave me reviews in the meantime; they really give me extra motivation to write. :)


	13. Up and Coming

Episode #13: Up and Coming

Setting: Almost two weeks into the pledge suspension

Synopsis: As Rusty and Rebecca anticipate graduation, it's time for underclassmen to start stepping into their shoes. Casey prepares for wedding dress shopping, with Ashleigh joining her in D.C. when she's there for work with her boss. Rusty and Dale receive news about their futures from unlikely sources.

-GREEK-

"I don't know what you did to get the pledges out of the house tonight," Rebecca said to Abby at the ZBZ house. "But thank God you did. They've been on suspension from Greek events for almost two weeks, and all they've done is take up space in our living room to watch television every…single…night."

"I sent them to do some community service," Abby said. "Maybe if they rack up on philanthropy hours, we'll stand a chance of getting the suspension lifted sooner. Two and a half more weeks of them sitting in the living room watching TV and shoveling ice cream into their mouths isn't going to happen."

"Not bad, but it's going to take more than philanthropy to get the deans to budge," Rebecca said.

"What are we supposed to do about Greek Week?" Abby asked. "It's coming up soon, and our pledges are a quarter of our team, but the suspension won't be over by then."

"Well every house is down because of losing the pledges," Rebecca said. "So that shouldn't ruin our chances. ZBZ was the defending sorority champions for the past five years. And with this being my senior year and my first Greek Week since I was a pledge, I'm determined to get a ZBZ win again."

"I know we can win this," Abby said. "Hey, I could help you out with it. Let me be Greek Week chair."

"But you've never even been through Greek Week before," Rebecca said. "I've already got some strategies in mind to bring up at this week's chapter meeting. But you're right; we can win this."

"So I may not have gone through Greek Week before, but no one else here has except for the senior class," Abby said. "You know I'm running for president in just a few months, and I've got to show the house I'm ready somehow."

"You're thinking about that already?" Rebecca asked. "Way to try to get rid of me."

"I'm not trying to get rid of you, but you have to let go sometime," Abby said. "Just let me do something."

"All I can ask you to do is keep the pledges occupied for the time being and keep them out of our food supply," Rebecca said. "I can handle Greek Week."

-GREEK-

"You need to get out here, like now," Casey said to Ashleigh once she answered her phone. "I don't know how much longer I can wait."

"You really want to go dress shopping, don't you?" Ashleigh asked Casey with a laugh. "Believe me, so do I. Especially since I really want to see the bridesmaids' dresses, and you won't tell me what they're like."

"That's only so you'll be surprised when you see your dress," Casey said. "But I'd bet you money that you can guess what color they are; you know my favorite color."

"I have a feeling I can figure that much out," Ashleigh said, as she was packing some clothes into her suitcase. "This makes me feel even more grown-up serious; going to a conference for marketing professionals. Clarissa really wanted me to go with her, and I didn't want to go at first because I really didn't want to go sit at boring meetings for three days. But the fact the conference is in D.C. and I'd get to go dress shopping with you on my time off kinda sealed the deal."

"I'm glad," Casey said. "And I'm going to need you to do me a huge favor once I get my dress."

"You name it," Ashleigh said. "That's what I'm here for."

"Hang onto the dress until the wedding," Casey said. "I know that Cappie is just like a little kid at Christmas and if I keep the dress here, he's going to sneak a peek."

"You can count on me; I'll keep it and make sure nothing happens to it," Ashleigh said. "Because I can really see him doing that."

"Thanks, Ash," Casey smiled. "You really are going to be my wedding savior, I can tell you that. Not just for the dress, but for everything."

-GREEK-

"CRU Greek Week Highlights, 2004?" Kelsey asked Spidey confused, noticing that was the title on a newspaper he was reading. "What's this about?"

"I got some of these old Greek Week newspapers from IFC," Spidey said. "The last Greek Week they had here was in 2009, before I came here, so I'm reading up on some things that happened in past years."

"I've obviously never been through Greek Week either, but it sounds like a lot of fun," Kelsey said. "But why are you looking through all these old papers? We'll learn what it's all about when we're actually living through it."

"Because I'm trying to help come up with a strategy for KT to win," Spidey said. "Apparently we haven't won since 1996 and Omega Chi has taken the win twelve out of the past fifteen years. Before the pledge suspension, Rusty said that pulling off a Greek Week win would add to the list of great things that have happened to our house in the past year. But then the suspension happened, which in our case meant we lost half of our team."

"But you sure don't sound like things are over for you," Kelsey said.

"Not even; in fact, things are just beginning," Spidey said. "This may sound strange, but I woke up this morning and it really hit me. There are only three months left of school before Rusty graduates, and then what happens? I thought about it, so much that I had to run to my first class to make it on time, and I realized that I really want to go for the presidency next year."

"Oh my gosh, that's great!" Kelsey said excitedly. "I really think you should do it! So that's why you're thinking about all this stuff for Greek Week?"

"Yeah," Spidey said. "I really need to give it my all these next three months to prove myself as the up and coming KT president."

"Do you know who you'd be up against?" Kelsey asked.

"Nobody's really talked much about it yet," Spidey said. "But I guess the way it seems to work at KT is the house hardly ever has elections for president; over the years what's happened is the current president picked someone as his replacement, and in most cases the rest of the house backed him on it."

"Well if that's the case, then I have a good feeling Rusty's going to support you," Kelsey said.

"I still need to work for it," Spidey said. "And I'm going to start by getting our pledges off suspension in time for Greek Week."

"How do you plan to do that?" Kelsey asked.

"Oh, I have a few ideas," Spidey said.

-GREEK-

"Do you ever get the feeling like you're being watched?" Dale asked Laura suddenly, as she was hanging out in the ZBZ kitchen where he was working.

"If you mean by your sister, yeah," Laura said. "She's still trying to find out what happened with us at New Years'; I'm beginning to think maybe we should just tell her."

"We can't," Dale said. "Not yet. And I'm not talking about her; there's this man who I swear has been following me around for the past few days. It seems like everywhere I've been on campus the past few days I've seen him, and I have no idea who he is. He disappears before I have the chance to talk to him, but I swear he followed me from a distance back to the Omega Chi house earlier today."

"Don't talk to him," Laura said. "He's probably a creepy townie and if he keeps it up, get a description of him and report him."

"The funny thing is, though, he's also been in the engineering lab when I've been there," Dale said. "I've seen him sitting in the back just reading a magazine; he really doesn't look creepy or anything, but something's up with him. It's like he's an undercover spy or something."

"Who's an undercover spy?" Rachel asked, entering the kitchen.

"I don't know; hence the word 'undercover'," Dale said.

"So wait, you're being stalked by a man?" Rachel asked with a laugh. "That's pretty hilarious."

"How much of that conversation did you hear?" Dale asked.

"Oh, just the part from where my big sis said that you guys should tell me what the heck happened in Vegas," Rachel said. "And then the part about you being stalked by a man. I'll tell you what; if you tell me what happened with you guys, I can help you find out who this mysterious person is and talk to him."

"You can't do that; what if he's a rapist or something?" Dale asked.

"Please, what rapist would hang out in an engineering lab?" Rachel scoffed. "For Pete's sake, can't you just tell me what's up with you guys?"

"No, because once you find out, everyone on campus and in both of our houses is going to find out," Dale said.

"Wow, I totally see the trust you have in me there," Rachel said sarcastically. "Good luck with your man-stalker then; I'm off to class."

"How about graduation?" Laura asked once Rachel left. "We'll tell everybody at graduation."

"That's actually a good idea," Dale said. "I don't want to hide the fact; I just want us to live out the rest of senior year like normal. So it's settled; graduation it is."

-GREEK-

"Hey, there you are," Ashleigh said to Rusty, walking into the engineering lab and seeing him busily working at one of the lab tables. "It's getting late; I thought you were coming over a while ago."

"Oh my gosh, what time is it?" Rusty asked quickly, and then looked at his watch. "It's almost midnight! I'm so sorry, Ash, I know you're leaving for D.C. early in the morning and I really was going to come over earlier. I didn't realize I've been here this long."

"It's okay," Ashleigh said with a smile. "It looks like you're working hard. But do you realize you've been staying here later and later every night for the past week? What's with the extra long hours you've been putting in lately?"

"I really think I'm getting somewhere on my senior project," Rusty said. "And last night I got this phone call, and you'll never guess who it was from."

"Who?" Ashleigh asked.

"Evan's dad," Rusty said. "Evan's parents are coming down here on business, and they want to meet with me tomorrow."

"About your project?" Ashleigh asked. "That's great!"

"I have no idea what to expect," Rusty said. "Last year they seemed to want to let me work on the wire when I graduated, and the only reason I'm doing what I'm doing now is to hopefully be able to continue with that."

"If Evan's dad called you, then it sounds to me like he wants to make a deal with you," Ashleigh said. "He'd be an idiot if he didn't; you put so much work into that wire, and you deserve to be a part of it."

"Thanks, Ash," Rusty smiled, and then yawned.

"But you look really tired," Ashleigh said. "I think you could use a break."

"I can't go to sleep yet," Rusty said. "I still have to finish studying for that test I have tomorrow."

"The one I was going to help you study for," Ashleigh said. "And I still can; we can just go back to my place."

"I'm not going to make you stay up half the night when you've got to leave early in the morning," Rusty said.

"I'll be riding in a car for six hours with Clarissa," Ashleigh said. "As much as I love her, if I don't sleep in the car, she'd talk my ear off the entire time. Besides…" Ashleigh smiled and walked closer to him. "I said you look like you need a break, and I'm going to give you one."

"Now that you mention it, perhaps I could use a little break," Rusty said with a grin and kissed her. "Let's get out of here."

-GREEK-

"Penny for your thoughts?" Evan asked, approaching Rebecca and noticing she looked like she was thinking about something.

"Abby keeps trying to take over Greek Week to prove herself to the house as the up and coming ZBZ president," Rebecca said. "But I'm still president until I walk across that stage at the end of May, and if, no not if, _when _we win Greek Week this year, it's going to be because of me."

"You know one of the important jobs as exiting president is to find someone who you know will be able to lead the house when you're gone," Evan said. "Do you think this girl would make a good president?"

"She could do it, I think," Rebecca said. "She's got the ZBZ spirit for it, that's for sure. And honestly, there's no one else that really seems like they're ready for the job as president."

"Don't you want to be sure that the house will be taken care of after you graduate?" Evan asked. "I know it means a lot to you, and I think why you're not letting her step up is because you're not ready to let go. You've done amazing things for ZBZ, and now this is the beginning of the end for you, and the reality is someone else has to take over after you."

"But it's not my time to leave yet and I'm not giving it all up until the last possible second," Rebecca said.

"You don't have to give up the house yet," Evan said. "You just have to let someone else learn from you. Wouldn't you hate to see things go wrong next year because no one else knows how to run the house?"

"If things fall apart after I'm gone, I'd seriously consider coming back here and taking the house back myself," Rebecca said.

"But you know you can't do that," Evan said. "Which is why you need to show the ropes to somebody else, so you know things are going to be okay next year."

"You did that with Calvin before you graduated and look what happened during his first time as president, though," Rebecca said.

"Well, sometimes things happen that are out of your control," Evan said. "But all you can do is do your best and know you've done everything in your power to make sure your house will stay just as good as where you leave it."

-GREEK-

"Timeout!" Spidey called out to the pledges who were playing a game in the KT backyard with a football, and a few pledges were carrying other pledges over their shoulders. "Drop the ball and listen up!"

"That's not fair; you can't call a timeout," Pledge Curly said as the pledges stopped moving.

"You're pledges and I'm not, which means yeah, I can call a timeout," Spidey said, and noticed a few of the pledges were still carrying others. "And put down your pledge brothers." The two guys dropped their brothers on the ground.

"Hey!" the guys who were dropped shouted, after hitting the grass with a thud.

"I meant gently," Spidey said. "Anyway, would you rather keep playing this, whatever the heck 'this' is, or would you rather have a chance to be in Greek Week?"

"I don't know; this is actually really fun," Pledge Barney said. "It's a game we made up."

"Then you can play it after you help us win Greek Week," Spidey said. "We don't stand a chance when we're down half our team. But hopefully we won't be anymore after today."

"What's happening?" Pledge Barf asked. "Are we getting off suspension?"

"I brought up the suspension at the IFC/Pan-Hellenic meeting and we made a proposal to the administration, and they're having a meeting today and considering re-evaluating the punishment and letting all pledges participate in Greek Week," Spidey said.

"I heard that winning Greek Week was one of the biggest things that could happen to a house all year," Pledge Alfred Hitchcock said.

"It was, and now that it's back this year, it still will be," Spidey said. "Which is why we need to convince the deans to let you and all the other pledges participate."

"And how are we going to do that?" Pledge Moe asked.

"Okay, here's the plan…," Spidey said.

-GREEK-

"Off to meet with Evan's parents?" Calvin asked, meeting up with Rusty as he was walking by Omega Chi, and noticing he was dressed up.

"Yeah, and I really have no idea what to expect with them," Rusty said. "Evan's dad wouldn't tell me anything other than they wanted to meet with me about the work I've been doing."

"Wouldn't it be awesome if they offered you a job or something?" Calvin asked. "Despite Evan's parents being the way he says they are, Chambers International is one of Fortune 500's Best Companies to Work For. They know how to run a business. And didn't they already kind of offer you something last year?"

"They said that I could work on my wire when I graduated," Rusty said. "They didn't say anything about actually giving me a job as an engineer. I remember first hearing about Chambers International from one of my high school science teachers, and she said it's a really great company for engineering grads to work for. But then I came to CRU and saw what Evan and his family were like at first, and I told myself I'd never work for people like that."

"But now you know they're a little different than you thought," Calvin said. "It would be a great opportunity."

"I'll just see what they have to say and go from there," Rusty said.

"Oh hey have you heard the deans are having a meeting regarding the pledge suspension today?" Calvin asked. "Dean Bowman sent an e-mail to all the house presidents, and apparently IFC and Pan-Hellenic made a pretty persuading proposal and they're considering letting the pledges participate in Greek Week."

"I haven't checked my e-mail all day," Rusty said. "But I really hope they lift the suspension for Greek Week. The pledges are half our team and I've been meaning to think of a way to talk to the administration and get them to reconsider, but I've been too busy in the lab most of this week. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't pushing for a KT win this year, no offense to you guys."

"Hey, all's fair in love and Greek Week," Calvin joked. "May the best man win."

-GREEK-

"Where do all these people come from?" Ashleigh asked Clarissa as they had arrived in D.C., and entered a room full of businesspeople who were all standing around casually chatting.

"There are employees here from companies all over the world," Clarissa said. "For me, hopefully it's a way to open up some new doors, and the same goes for you. You're studying abroad next year, and I thought something that would be great for you is to get on a marketing research project for the summer, which could involve some trend forecasting. You said yourself you've always been interested in that; well this could be your chance."

"You know what would be awesome?" Ashleigh said. "Traveling all over the world and still being able to do work in marketing and trend forecasting. I've only ever lived in my hometown and Cyprus, and briefly in New York City, and I realized it's time for more than that. I'm not going to live forever; I want to get out and do things and see the world. That's part of the reason I decided to do the study abroad program."

"You wouldn't be normal if you didn't feel like that at your age," Clarissa said. "When I graduated from college, I went to California, and then I was in France, Italy, England, and a few other places. I worked in campus marketing; basically studying college campuses and figuring out the best marketing techniques for them. Then I decided I wanted to come back to my hometown in Cyprus and work on starting my own firm, and then go from there."

"I really would have loved to have the job you did back then," Ashleigh said.

"There's a colleague of mine from college I recently got back in touch with who might be able to help," Clarissa said. "She's been VP of marketing in her company for the past seven years, and she's got an office right in London. When I told her that's where you're going to be studying next year, she said she really wants to meet you here. And that's one of the reasons I wanted to bring you here."

"Really, that sounds great," Ashleigh said. "I'd love to meet her."

"Well we'll make that happen as soon as I can find her in here," Clarissa said. "This place is more crowded than I thought it would be."

-GREEK-

"Mr. and Mrs. Chambers," Rusty greeted Evan's parents as he met them at a small coffee shop.

"Hello Rusty; please, sit down," Mrs. Chambers said, and Rusty took a seat in a chair across from them.

"Thanks for meeting with me," Rusty said. "Although I wish I could say I knew what this meeting was about, but I'm guessing it has to do with your company."

"Every year, Chambers International recruits engineering grads from top universities like MIT, CRU, Cal-Tech, and even Oxford in London," Mr. Chambers said. "After talking to you last year, we've kept our eye on you since then. We had a meeting with your advisor earlier today and he showed me what you've been working on this year, and I have to say we're definitely interested. We told you that you could work on the wire when you graduated, and we still want to offer that opportunity to you."

"Really, because that would be the best thing in the world," Rusty said happily.

"Your advisor, Dr. Hastings, said you're pursuing graduate studies next year," Mrs. Chambers said. "What are your plans for that?"

"I decided on going for a two year research degree to start with," Rusty said. "I applied to MIT, Cal-Tech, Oxford, and even here at CRU, but I'd really like to get into Oxford because that's where my girlfriend is studying abroad next year."

"I think studying abroad would be a great experience," Mrs. Chambers said. "And actually, one of our offices is right in London."

"After seeing your progress this year, we're willing to make you an offer," Mr. Chambers said. "We'll cover your tuition for two years of graduate studies at the school of your choice to continue research on the wire, if you'll agree to become a full-time employee of Chambers International after you've completed a master's degree."

"Wow, this is so much more than what I expected," Rusty said with a smile. "The wire project really means a lot to me because it's something I started, and it really means a lot that you're letting me be a part of it and work for your company. I can't think of anything else I'd rather do after graduation. So yes, of course I accept and again, thank you so much."

"We're glad to have you on board," Mr. Chambers said. "We only accept the best, and you've got the potential to be just that."

-GREEK-

"Hey, did you hear about the meeting the administration is having about the pledge suspension?" Abby asked Rebecca, seeing her in the ZBZ living room.

"Yes, thank God," Rebecca said. "They may be pledges, but we need them on our Greek Week team. After all, they're the ones who we can make do the 'dirty work' of Greek Week, per se."

"Like the events we just don't want to do, but yet have to do in order to win," Abby said.

"Exactly," Rebecca said.

"We can thank Kelsey's KT boyfriend for making them reconsider," Abby said. "Apparently he's the one who brought up the whole suck up speech at the Pan-Hel/IFC meeting. Wait, are they actually dating now?"

"No, and I'll probably have a head of gray hair before they actually just cut the crap and go out," Rebecca said sarcastically. "But anyway, I've been thinking, and I decided that I could use an assistant for Greek Week. Know anyone who might want to do it?"

"What kind of assistant?" Abby asked. "The kind who brings you coffee and answers your phone or the kind who can actually help you bring ZBZ to a Greek Week victory."

"A little of both, maybe," Rebecca said. "But more so the second one, I suppose."

"Then consider me your 'assistant'," Abby said. "The current president and future president hopeful working together to bring our team to victory; this is going to be great!"

"Just don't get ahead of yourself yet," Rebecca said. "There's a lot you have to know before you can really be president of this house."

"Then show me everything I need to know in the next three months," Abby said.

"I'll try my best," Rebecca said.

-GREEK-

"What are you all doing here?" Dean Bowman asked as he and other members of the administration walked into their meeting room, where Spidey and the KT pledge class were sitting in the seats in the room. "You know this isn't a public meeting."

"We were wondering if we could just have five minutes of your time before you discuss things," Spidey said. "We have a few things we'd like to say."

"Okay, five minutes is it," Dean Bowman said, as the administrators took their seats.

"I could just give you a list of reasons why I think our pledges shouldn't be on suspension for the rest of the year," Spidey said. "But that would take much longer than five minutes, so I'll just let them do the talking." He gave a motion for the pledges to speak.

"As pledge class president, all I can say on behalf of all of us is we're sorry," Pledge Alfred Hitchcock said. "We're sorry we let things get really out of hand. For one, every other house shouldn't get in trouble because we messed up, and our own actives shouldn't have to suffer during Greek Week because of us."

"Apparently a lot of bad things happened with our house before we even came here," Pledge Larry said. "And our president has worked really hard all year to make sure things don't go bad again, and then we pull this, but we shouldn't have. It won't happen again."

"I will personally vouch for all of them and say it won't happen again," Spidey said. "I'm not really sure I have much to stake on it right now, but whatever I've got, I'll stake it."

"He's probably going to be our president next year," Pledge Barney spoke up. "So if he's going to vouch for us like that, you can believe him for sure."

"Yeah, I'll stake my up and coming presidency on it, if that means anything at all," Spidey said, and then turned back to the pledges. "Tell them what else we talked about."

"If we can have our Greek life back," Pledge Curly said. "We'll do anything you want around campus. Pick up garbage, scrub toilets, scrape gum off the bleachers after football games; really, anything."

"Call it campus service if you will," Spidey said.

"Well that certainly isn't a bad proposal at all," Dean Bowman said. "We will consider your statements during our meeting, but for now, your five minutes are up. We'll be contacting all of the houses later this afternoon with our verdict."

-GREEK-

"So which one of you is the lovely bride?" a cheery saleslady asked as Casey and Ashleigh approached her at the bridal shop.

"That would be me," Casey said with a smile. "I'm Casey, and this is my maid of honor, Ashleigh."

"It's nice to meet you, and congratulations," the saleslady said. "So do you have any ideas in mind for dresses?"

"I think I've narrowed it down to three choices from looking on your website," Casey said. "I actually printed off the pictures of each of them; here they are." Casey handed the saleslady three sheets of paper with the pictures.

"All very good choices," the saleslady said. "We have all of these in stock, so I'll go find them and I'll be right back."

"This is so exciting!" Casey said happily. "It's all going to feel even more real once I find that perfect dress. But speaking of exciting, you still have to tell me your good news; from your conference."

"Clarissa has this friend who has an office in London," Ashleigh began. "And I talked to her, and she offered to let me work there for a year when I'm studying there. It's a marketing firm that has people do marketing and trend forecasting in places all over the world."

"That would be amazing for you!" Casey said. "I still kind of keep forgetting the fact that you're leaving Cyprus after this year; leaving the country no less. And Rusty's hoping to get into Oxford so you can be together next year. I really am so glad that you guys are doing so well and seeing the way he treats you; I've never been more proud of him."

"I really am happy," Ashleigh said with a smile. "I have no doubts that he's going to get in and next year, it's going to be great. I'm going to miss you and Cappie and all our friends in Cyprus so much, but I just keep telling myself that it's time; time to move on. I've spent almost six years of my life in Cyprus and it's always going to be home; sometimes I consider it more like home than where I actually grew up. And that's the thing about home, you can't stay there forever, but you can always come back."

"I'm going to miss you guys so much; you have no idea," Casey said. "But what you're doing is the right thing for you; and it's not like we're not going to talk all the time like we do now. Video chat has got to be one of the greatest inventions to date, seriously."

"I know; I honestly don't know how the world survived for so long without it," Ashleigh said with a laugh, and then the saleslady walked back over to them.

"I've got your dresses hung up in a dressing room," the saleslady said. "Are you ready to try them on? I think it's going to be a hard choice because they all look like they'll look great on you!"

"I'm so ready to try them on," Casey said happily.

"And I'm ready to see them," Ashleigh said. "And then the bridesmaid dresses too, of course!"

-GREEK-

"Dale Kettlewell, is that right?" a man approached him as he was working in the engineering lab.

"I've seen you practically everywhere I've been on campus these past few days," Dale observed, after seeing who the man was. "I was raised not to talk to strangers, but now that you're talking to me; I've just got to ask. Who are you and how do you know my name?"

"Relax, I'm not a stalker; I promise," the man said with a chuckle. "I'm an undercover investigator from Cal-Tech; well I was undercover, but I had the feeling you've been seeing me around a little more than you should, and I should probably tell you who I am before you report me for harassment. I was sent by Cal-Tech admissions to scope out senior engineering students from top universities; CRU being one of them. You were one of the students on the list that applied for a graduate program at Cal-Tech."

"In that case, nice to meet you and sorry I called you a stranger," Dale said. "So you're a recruiter?"

"I'm not an official recruiter, just an observer," the man said. "I come to see how students are doing and take what I find back to admissions. And I just have to say I like what I see in you. If I did have the power to make admissions decisions, I'd say you'd be in the program in a heartbeat. All I can do is give a good report back, but I'd say you've got a really good chance."

"I only applied to the top engineering grad schools there are," Dale said. "Then I started thinking that maybe that wasn't the best decision not to even have a safety school, but I just don't settle when it comes to my future, you know."

"You should never settle for less than what you deserve," the man said. "And you deserve to be in a top school and I have no doubt that's going to happen for you."

-GREEK-

"Hey, how'd the meeting with Evan's parents go?" Calvin asked Rusty as he walked over to where Calvin and Dale were sitting in Dobler's.

"You were right," Rusty said to Calvin. "It went great! They told me that they would pay for me to go to grad school if I work for them afterwards. I had to take it; I mean, grad school is expensive and despite how I used to feel about Evan and his family, their company is one of the most successful engineering giants out there."

"That's incredible," Calvin said happily. "I guess both of you came up with some exciting news about post-grad life today. Dale got his from the guy he thought was stalking him."

"Oh yeah, did you find out who that was?" Rusty asked Dale.

"Yeah it was an investigator from Cal Tech's admissions," Dale said. "He said I've got a good chance at getting into their engineering grad program."

"That's great," Rusty said excitedly. "I guess things really are starting to come together for all of us."

"Yeah, do you realize that if you end up at Cal-Tech, Dale, and I'm in India with Heath, you'll be waking up in the morning about the same time we're going to sleep at night," Calvin said.

"They always say the other side of the world wakes up at the same time California goes to sleep," Dale said.

"It really is going to be so different," Rusty said. "But think about everything we're going to have to talk about when we come back for Christmas."

"I just hope Heath and I can work it out where we're able to come home for Christmas," Calvin said, and then his phone beeped. "Oh wow, this is an e-mail from Dean Bowman. They've reached an agreement on the pledge suspension and all pledges are now allowed in Greek Week. Then after Greek Week, Dean Bowman is implementing a new campus service program. I wonder what that's all about."

"That's really great to hear for KT," Rusty said. "And that reminds me I should probably check in with the house. With the exception of sleeping and showering, I've practically lived in the lab this week and I really have no idea what's been going on."

-GREEK-

"Hey, did you hear?" Rusty asked Spidey as he entered the KT house. "Apparently all the pledges have been taken off suspension."

"Yeah they have!" Spidey said excitedly. "And crisis averted! You're welcome."

"What do you mean by 'you're welcome'?" Rusty asked curiously. "You started all of this?"

"Yep; when you've been off getting ready for your big meeting with the Chambers', I've been pulling us together and making sure we're in full force for Greek Week," Spidey said. "The pledges and I went to the deans before their meeting and I made them say all this stuff about how sorry they were, and I vouched for them and said it would never happen again. Then just a little while ago we heard that it worked. The pledges are off suspension, and apparently Dean Bowman is now really excited about starting this new campus service program as a punishment for students. Unfortunately our pledges are going to be a part of it for the rest of the year, but hey, it's better than where we were at before."

"This is incredible," Rusty said happily. "I really can't thank you enough for taking care of this. Now we actually have a chance at winning."

"I think I can help us with that, too," Spidey said. "Kelsey said Rebecca made one of her sisters her Greek Week assistant. Let me be yours and we can pull this off. If you ask me anything about things that happened in Greek Week during the past twenty years, I could probably tell you now. Really, I don't know how Omega Chi has won all these years; their strategies are way too easy. See, here's their old strategy notes." He held up a notebook he'd found.

"I almost forgot we still had that," Rusty said. "We got our hands on that two years ago before we found out they canceled Greek Week. And if you want to help with Greek Week; you've got it. It sounds like you're really into this."

"Believe me, I am," Spidey said excitedly. "So how did the meeting with the Chambers' go?"

"I got great news from Evan's parents," Rusty said happily. "I'll tell you all about it as soon as I check on the pledges out back. By the way, what has got you so excited all of a sudden about Greek Week; not that it's not a good thing because it is."

"I'm just thinking ahead," Spidey said. "It never hurts!"

A/N: And the countdown to graduation is really on now! Kinda sad, but exciting too. Sorry for another super long wait, but hope you enjoyed the new chapter. :) Seven more to go!


	14. Still in the Game

Episode #14: Still in the Game

Setting: At the end of Greek Week

Synopsis: The competition of Greek Week winds down, but not before KT, Omega Chi, and Lambda Sig compete for the fraternity win. Meanwhile, Cappie and Casey continue their wedding plans, Katherine has a bit of a scare in her life, Ashleigh comes to a realization about her relationship with Rusty, and Kelsey receives a phone call that causes her to finally make some changes.

-GREEK-

"We sure did a heck of a job this week, didn't we?" he asked Rusty as they were standing amongst the crowd on the campus quad, anxiously awaiting the results of the last official day of Greek Week.

"Yeah, we did!" Rusty said excitedly. "Yesterday, we were ahead of Omega Chi but Lambda Sig was ahead of us, but we did great today so I think we might have pulled it off."

"Attention please, everyone!" Trip announced suddenly over the microphone. "So the results are in, and it seems the competition isn't over just yet. For three fraternities, at least."

"So we must've tied," Rusty whispered.

"We have a winning sorority, and I'm sure it's no surprise to anyone that the winner is Zeta Beta Zeta," Trip announced, and the ZBZ sisters started clapping and cheering loudly, as Rebecca walked up to the podium to claim the ZBZ trophy.

"And now we're defending champs six years in a row!" Rebecca exclaimed. "Take that, Gamma Psi."

"And for the first time ever, we end our last day of Greek Week with a three way tie among the fraternities," Trip continued. "The houses with the tie are Omega Chi, Lambda Sig, and Kappa Tau. Since IFC and Pan-Hellenic weren't really expecting this, we don't exactly have a tiebreaker event planned…"

"You should let us pick one," Abby spoke up, walking over next to Rebecca. "Since we're the winning sorority and all, we'll come up with an event for them to do."

"To make things interesting, why not," Trip said. "Come up with an event by tonight, our houses will have tomorrow to prepare, and we'll hold it on Sunday and then announce the winning fraternity."

"I hope they don't make us sing or dance or something lame," a KT brother said as the KT guys gathered after Trip finished talking. "But they're girls, so who knows what they'll throw us."

"Well, whatever they decide, we'll be ready for it," Spidey said. "We've come this close, and there's no way we're giving up now."

-GREEK-

"Hey Cap," Casey said as she sat down next to Cappie, who was sitting on the couch with a bowl of popcorn and the TV on. "So I was thinking this weekend we should go make our wedding registry; what do you think?"

"Wedding registry?" Cappie asked. "Isn't that where we go to a store and we get to play with one of those scanner things and pick out all the stuff we want?"

"In your words, yeah that's pretty much what it is," Casey said with a laugh. "People at work have asked me where we're registered, and my aunt told me today she wants to have a bridal shower for me next month. Ash kind of hinted to me when she was here that she's planning one for me in Cyprus, but I really wasn't expecting anything here. I mean, I know my co-workers and we get along really well, but we're not exactly close friends and they're still excited about me getting married."

"That's really nice of them," Cappie said. "It really sounds like you've found yourself in a good part of politics, which is actually really hard to do nowadays."

"You're right about that," Casey said, grabbing some popcorn from his bowl. "Wait; is this 'A Wedding Story'?" She noticed what was playing on TV after the commercial break ended.

"Yeah, I just happened to notice there was a marathon on today so I started watching," Cappie said. "Some of these weddings are actually pretty interesting."

"I watch this show sometimes when you're gone," Casey said. "Just thinking about how very soon, that's going to be you and me."

"Believe me, that's what I've been thinking as I've been watching," Cappie said, as Casey leaned up against him and he put an arm around her. "As for the wedding registry, I'm in. But I'll warn you; you'll probably have to restrain me from taking the scanner and scanning everything in the store. Not because I really want everything, but just because those things look so much fun to play with."

"You are such a child," Casey said jokingly and laughed as they continued watching the current couple who was planning their wedding on the TV.

-GREEK-

"Hey, are you coming or what?" Rebecca asked, entering her little sisters' room. "Party at Dobler's, which was supposed to be to celebrate the end of Greek Week, but since it's technically not over yet, it's actually more of a celebration for us!"

"Of course; I'm ready!" Heather said excitedly.

"You guys go ahead; I may catch up with you later," Kelsey said. "I've just got to take care of some things first."

"What's going on?" Rebecca asked.

"I don't know yet," Kelsey said. "I got a voicemail from my best friend at Penn State and she said it was urgent and to call her back. Well now I can't reach her so I'm just going to wait a while and see if I can. We haven't talked in almost a month so I'm kinda worried now."

"'Urgent' can mean a lot of things," Rebecca said. "It doesn't always mean bad. Maybe she's just freaking out about an outfit or something."

"I hope it's nothing more than that," Kelsey said with a sigh. "Hopefully I'll meet you at Dobler's later."

"Text us if you need anything and when you're coming over," Heather said.

"Will do," Kelsey said and Rebecca and Heather left. Her phone rang just then. "Who died?" she answered suddenly without even looking at the caller ID.

"Well, I hope nobody died," Spidey said concerned on the other end. "What's going on? Should I be worried?"

"Oh, it's you," Kelsey said. "Sorry, I thought you were Amber, my best friend from Penn State who I need to reach, like now."

"I was just calling to say we're all at the party at Dobler's and I thought you were coming over," Spidey said. "But really, is everything okay?"

"Okay, I will be there as soon as I get a hold of her," Kelsey said. "I don't know what's going on. She left me a voicemail and she sounded like something happened so I need to find out."

"I hope it's nothing serious," Spidey said. "Please, call me back once you talk to her."

"Yeah, I will," Kelsey said.

-GREEK-

"So let me get this straight," Dale said to Calvin as they walked into Dobler's. "We have to build a boat. Out of cardboard and duct tape. And race it across Cyprus Lake against KT and Lambda Sig. Cyprus Lake is gross and unsanitary. Who dreamed this up?"

"Apparently ZBZ did," Calvin said. "And if we build a good boat, we don't have to worry about how gross the water is because nobody will fall in it."

(A/N: This is actually something my school puts on for fun every year. Basically what you do is you make a boat out of cardboard and wrap it in duct tape so it doesn't get wet, and you make oars out of cardboard and duct tape, too. Then two people are in each boat and we race them on the water across and back. It's a lot of fun and pretty intense, and I figured if we can do it, a bunch of frat guys could do it for a competition, too! :D)

"Well I'm sure there's a science behind this kind of thing," Dale said. "I bet I could figure out the exact dimensions and amount of cardboard and duct tape we need to make it work."

"But we also know someone else who I'm sure will know how to do that, too," Calvin said. "I'm sure Rusty and his little brother are going to be doing the exact same thing for KT. I think it's going to be a tough competition."

"But if you think about it, I think we have an advantage," Dale said. "Lambda Sig has a house full of jocks with no brains. They may be fast, but if they can't build a boat right, they stand no chance at winning. No offense to KT, but they're not athletic in any way, shape, or form. It was all strategy that helped them this week. Whereas us, we've got athletic guys and brains."

"Hmm, maybe you're right," Calvin said. "So now, we need cardboard, and lots of it. Hey, I'm sure they have a ton right here at Dobler's. Let's go ask the manager." They approached the bar and then saw Rusty standing there.

"Hey guys," Rusty greeted. "I guess you heard about the boat race."

"Yeah, we were actually going to ask the manager for some extra cardboard," Calvin said. "Have you seen him around?"

"Yeah, I actually just asked him for some," Rusty said. "Sorry, he said he didn't have much."

"It's fine; we'll find some somewhere else," Calvin said.

"I hope you're ready for us to give you a run for your money, though," Dale joked.

"As long as you're ready for us to give you a run for yours!" Rusty said back.

-GREEK-

"Well if this is the kind of crap you want me to deal with in order to have your support, then maybe I'll be a lot better off without your support now!" Kelsey said angrily into her phone and slammed it, before pulling open her door and walking into the hall.

"Hey," Spidey greeted from behind her, causing her to turn around in shock.

"Good grief!" Kelsey yelled quickly. "You scared the bajeezus out of me! It freaks me out when I'm alone in this house! How'd you get in here, anyway?"

"I snuck in through the balcony door of Rebecca's room," Spidey said. "I had to see if you were okay. You had me worried from the moment you asked me who died on the phone."

"It's fine," Kelsey said trying to convince him. "Really, I saw this coming from a mile away and yet I still took all of his crap just to get my parents' support…"

"Wait, him?" Spidey interrupted. "So that's what your friend wanted to tell you. What did that idiot do now?"

"Amber was at this fraternity party last night with some of our other friends," Kelsey said. "And they saw Robert there, not with his guy friends, but he was with…some other girl. And then later, Amber had to go and find the bathroom; well the first door she opened was not the bathroom. It was one of the bedrooms. And guess who she found in there about to hook up; my so-called boyfriend and some freshman slut! Apparently he found out about us at New Years' and did this to get back at me. I guess I deserved it."

"Don't say that, because you didn't deserve it," Spidey said. "You and me, we made a mistake, but what he did was just downright low. He purposely cheated on you in revenge. What a jerk! I'm so sorry."

"You shouldn't have any reason to be sorry," Kelsey said. "I'm the idiot. You and Ash and everyone else who's actually my friend had him figured out from the beginning. Even Amber's been watching him like a hawk since I transferred here last year, just waiting for him to mess up. I should have come to my senses and ended things after New Years', and probably even before then. But I did it now; I finally told him that it's over, for good. But now he's pissed, my parents are pissed, and this whole thing just sucks and I don't know what to do."

-GREEK-

"Hey Beav, is Katherine here?" Ashleigh asked once Beaver opened his apartment door. "We've got our appointment at the bridal shop for our dress fitting."

"Oh, I thought she already called you," Beaver said. "She's sick in bed, unfortunately."

"She's still sick?" Ashleigh asked concerned. "She was sick last week but I thought she was better. You should probably take her to the doctor."

"I know I need to," Beaver began. "But I'm afraid."

"Afraid of what?" Ashleigh asked confused.

"How do you know if you're like, you know, well, the 'P' word?" Beaver asked suddenly.

"Whoa, back up," Ashleigh said surprised. "Do you mean the 'P' word as in pregnant?"

"Yeah, that word," Beaver said.

"Okay, first of all, you're asking this question to someone who's never been pregnant before," Ashleigh said. "And second of all, you really think she might be pregnant?"

"I don't know," Beaver said. "She's been sick off and on, she gets sicker when she eats certain things, and she's been really tired a lot."

"Yeah, you need to take her to the doctor," Ashleigh said.

"She can't have something going on, you know, in the stomach area," Beaver said, getting worried now. "I've got twenty kids now, none of who live with me. I can't imagine having to take care of a kid who does live with me and is my own right now."

"Don't freak out about it; she may not even be pregnant," Ashleigh said. "I hope she's not, because right now you can't even say the word 'pregnant'. But you need to find out what's really going on."

-GREEK-

"Morning, sleepyhead," Casey said to Cappie as he came out of their bedroom.

"Morning," Cappie smiled and kissed her. He noticed she was surrounded by papers where she was sitting at the table. "Are these all the RSVP's we've gotten from people?" He picked up one of them."

"Yeah, we got more in the mail yesterday and I'm so behind on sorting through them," Casey said. "You'll be happy to know a lot of your relatives in California are coming."

"April and Tobias said a lot of them are making the trip out here together," Cappie said. "By the wedding it'll be a year since I've seen any of them, so it'll be good to see them." Casey's phone rang just then.

"It's Katherine," Casey said to Cappie.

"I'll hop in the shower when you're talking to her, then we can hit the store," Cappie said.

"Sounds good," Casey said and then answered her phone. "Hello."

"Casey, thank God you answered," Katherine said in a slight panic.

"Is everything okay?" Casey asked. "You're not still sick, are you?"

"I'm worried because I was sick earlier this morning after breakfast, but now I'm not," Katherine said. "And this has been happening for about the past week; I can be sick one minute but later in the day I feel better. I know you're not a doctor but I remember you saying you went through something similar with Cappie, so how did you know when you thought you were pregnant?"

"You really think you might be pregnant?" Casey asked. "And what happened with me and Cappie was I found out the next day, and I just took the morning after pill."

"Oh," Katherine said. "And I don't know if I'm pregnant; I mean I'm on the pill of course but that isn't always 100 percent effective."

"There could be another reason you've been sick like this," Casey said. "I really think you should go to the doctor."

"This is like the first time in my life I've been afraid to go to a doctor," Katherine said. "I can't tell Walter this is what I'm thinking or else he'll react worse than me."

"I'd say the more you put it off, the more stress you're going to put yourself through," Casey said. "If you've been sick all week, I'm sure he's worried too."

-GREEK-

"See, I told you you'd love the dresses," Ashleigh said excitedly to Rebecca as they walked out of the bridal shop.

"When you said they were pink I had to admit I thought they'd be a little too much," Rebecca said. "But they look amazing on us."

"Yeah they do," Ashleigh smiled. "You know, doing all this wedding stuff for Casey is great, and it's really making me think…well, maybe I shouldn't really say this right now."

"Say what?" Rebecca asked curiously. "Come on, tell me."

"Well, it's making me think that I really want to get married," Ashleigh said. "Or at least engaged."

"Oh wow," Rebecca said surprised. "You mean to Rusty?"

"No, to Orlando Bloom," Ashleigh said sarcastically. "Yes I mean to Rusty. I've really been thinking about it a lot lately. I haven't told him or anyone else besides you, though."

"You'd be a fool if you thought that he didn't want to marry you," Rebecca said. "I've seen the way he looks at you and it just shows you're the best thing that's ever happened to him. But you're not going to get him to propose to you by telling me about it."

"I just don't want to push the idea with him just yet if he's not ready," Ashleigh said. "I mean, we've talked a little about the possibility before, but he's just going to be graduating this year and then he'll be in grad school. As much as I want us to get engaged, if I have to wait a few more years, I will."

"Rusty strikes me as the type of guy who you'll probably have to slap upside the head before he realizes you want to marry him," Rebecca said. "He's going to want to marry you, but he's not going to have the guts to ask you yet. I mean, it took you how long to actually start dating now? So if you want to get a proposal out of him, you're going to have to give him that slap in the face, metaphorically speaking."

-GREEK-

"Oh hey guys," Calvin greeted Rebecca and Evan as he saw them walk into the Omega Chi house armed with cardboard and duct tape. "Is that for us? Because we could sure use some."

"Yeah, Pan-Hellenic got their hands on some stuff for each of the houses," Rebecca said, as they gave the supplies to some brothers passing by.

"How's it going here?" Evan asked.

"I think we're doing pretty well so far," Calvin said. "But you guys came at a good time; we were just about out of cardboard."

"We actually had a similar contest the year before you came here," Evan said. "It was some crazy thing between us and KT, and we won."

"How exactly did you beat them?" Calvin asked.

"We got the ZBZ's to get them all drunk the night before," Evan said with a laugh. "And that's not the only time that's happened."

"But we shouldn't exactly do that in the post-rivalry era," Calvin said.

"Speaking of the post-rivalry era," Evan began. "Since graduation is upon you soon, who's going to be the one to keep the house going next year?"

"I'm not worried about it at all," Calvin said. "There are a few standouts among the juniors, and we'll have elections after spring break and I'm confident whoever wins can handle it."

"Good, because you know one of the most important jobs as exiting president is to find someone who you know can keep the house going after you're gone," Rebecca spoke up, alluding to Evan's advice to her.

"True statement," Evan said with a nod.

-GREEK-

"Helpful girlfriend to the rescue!" Ashleigh said as she entered the KT house and saw Rusty coming in from out back. "I got you three more rolls of duct tape; hopefully that'll be enough."

"Thanks, babe," Rusty smiled and kissed her. "I hope that's all we need, too." He saw a pledge about to walk outside and handed him the bag of duct tape. "Here, pledge, take this with you."

"How was dress fitting?" Rusty asked Ashleigh once the pledge left.

"It went great; Rebecca loves her dress," Ashleigh said. "It was just her and me since Katherine's apparently still sick."

"That's not good," Rusty said. "Wasn't she sick last week?"

"Yeah, and I think I finally convinced Beaver to take her to the doctor," Ashleigh said. "He was freaking out thinking she was pregnant or something; I really don't think she is but she needs to see someone."

"I can't see her being pregnant now, either, but it really doesn't surprise me that was the first conclusion he came to," Rusty said with a chuckle.

"You know what I love about this wedding?" Ashleigh asked. "It's really making me think about a lot."

"Really, like what?" Rusty asked.

"The future," Ashleigh smiled and put her hands around his neck. "And what might happen next."

"Oh really?" Rusty asked with a grin and wrapped his arms around her waist. "And what are you saying you want to happen?"

"You'll figure it out when the time's right," Ashleigh said and kissed him. Just then they heard the back door close and Spidey walked in.

"We need more cardboard, badly," Spidey said.

"What, I thought we had plenty," Rusty said.

"We did, until the pledges started cutting it all wrong," Spidey said.

"Cardboard, I can go get you guys some of that," Ashleigh said. "I could have just gotten some when I got the duct tape."

"I'll go with you," Spidey said. "Besides, I was hoping you'd have some more female-related advice about a certain situation."

"Yeah, I sort of heard about what happened last night," Ashleigh said. "Sure, let's go."

-GREEK-

"Hi, I'm here for an appointment," Katherine said to the receptionist at the doctor's office as she and Beaver walked in.

"Are you sure he's not the one who needs to be seen?" the receptionist asked, referring to Beaver.

"No, why?" Katherine asked.

"Because he looks like he's going to vomit," the receptionist said.

"No, I'm fine," Beaver said. "It's her; she's the one who's been sick."

"All right, if you're sure," the receptionist said. "Sign in here." Katherine signed in and she and Beaver took seats in the waiting room. "You really do look like you're going to throw up. I hope I didn't give you whatever I have, if I actually have something."

"I actually hope you gave me something, because that would mean that you didn't have something that you couldn't really give me," Beaver said.

"What, that didn't make any sense at all," Katherine said.

"I mean that you wouldn't have something that a girl couldn't exactly 'give' to a guy," Beaver said.

"Wait, you don't think that I'm like, you know…" Katherine began.

"Pregnant," Beaver interrupted. "There, I said the word."

"I was trying not to let you see that I thought I might be pregnant," Katherine said. "But apparently you thought the same thing."

"With the way you've been strangely sick, I don't know what else to think," Beaver said.

"Miss Parker," a nurse came through the door and said. "The doctor will see you now."

"Here goes nothing," Beaver said as he followed Katherine into one of the rooms.

-GREEK-

"Oh hey, fancy meeting you here," Spidey said as he and Ashleigh saw Kelsey as they were about to walk into the supermarket.

"Yeah, fancy meeting you here," Ashleigh repeated.

"You were the one who texted me to meet you at the supermarket because you needed help carrying back some cardboard," Kelsey said to Ashleigh.

"Oh yeah, I guess I did," Ashleigh said with a laugh. "Anyway, I'll go ask someone what they've got and be right back out." With that, she hurried ahead and walked inside the supermarket.

"She is so trying to meddle," Kelsey said after Ashleigh left. "Again."

"Who said meddling is a bad thing?" Spidey asked. "So how are things since last night?"

"I woke up this morning actually feeling a lot better than I did last night," Kelsey said. "But I'm still not sure where to go from here. I can't go back again; I just can't. It's like the old saying goes; fool me once, shame on you. Fool me about ten times, major shame on me and seriously, what the hell is wrong with me."

"Nothing is wrong with you," Spidey said. "You've been brainwashed your whole life and that's not your fault. But now's your chance to finally overcome it. Can you say that breaking up with Robert was the right thing to do? And by that I mean the right thing for you; not for him, not for your parents, or anyone else but yourself."

"You know what, yeah I can," Kelsey said. "Honestly, we never even had a real relationship since we got back together last year, and it's taken me this long to see that."

"Then that's all that matters is that it was the right thing to do for you," Spidey said. "I know it's probably going to take some time for you to work through everything and I'm not going to push you into anything you're not ready for right now, but I promise I'll be there for you every step of the way."

"You really are the best friend I ever could have asked for," Kelsey smiled and hugged him. "I do need time to get things straightened out before I even think about dating again. But when I am ready, you'll be the first one to know."

"I sure hope so," Spidey smiled, hugging her back. "And I wouldn't have it any other way."

-GREEK-

"I think I see what the problem might be here," the doctor said to Katherine.

"You don't think I'm pregnant, do you?" Katherine asked the doctor with concern.

"Gosh, no," the doctor said with a chuckle. "While your symptoms might resemble pregnancy in a way, I think there's something else going on. You said you've been sick the worst after eating certain things, right?"

"Yeah, for the most part," Katherine said.

"I think a food allergy is a more likely cause of this than pregnancy," the doctor said. "It's common for people to develop food allergies during their lives, even when they're not born with them. We're going to do some tests on you and talk about changing your diet a little so we can see what exactly you're allergic to. Let me go and get a few things and I'll be right back."

"Talk about a relief right there," Beaver said to Katherine once the doctor left. "I mean, not that I want you to be allergic to something, but you're not pregnant!"

"I'd rather have a food allergy right now than a baby," Katherine said. "I'm still a serious student and I'm not ready for little Anastasia to come into the world yet."

"Believe me, neither am I," Beaver said. "My kindergarteners are enough for me right now. I love them all to death but am I ready to raise one myself? No I'm not."

"Now I just really want to find out what I'm allergic to," Katherine said. "Although I feel ten times better right now just knowing I'm not pregnant."

-GREEK-

"Case, let me see the scanner thing again," Cappie said excitedly to Casey as they were at the store looking at things for their registry. "I found a few other things we might want."

"Might want, or actually might need?" Casey asked. "We've both already picked out some stuff we might want but really don't need; remember it was my job to restrain you from scanning everything in the store?"

"I know," Cappie chuckled, knowing she was half-joking. "But no, I found some things we actually might need. Don't you think we should put some stuff on our list that we'll use once we get the house in a few years? I mean, right now we've got a fully furnished apartment that we really don't _need_ anything else for. But in a few years, we'll have to fill an entire house."

"That's actually a really good idea," Casey agreed. "I've been trying to think myself of things we need and there's really not a lot right now. But if we could get some stuff for a house, we can just store it at my parents' until we need it."

"It's kinda funny how all the stuff we both have now that won't fit into our apartment, we now store at your parents' house that's 700 miles away from us," Cappie said.

"Because they have a ton of attic space," Casey said.

"And my parents don't exactly stay in one place long enough for us to keep anything there," Cappie said.

"Speaking of your parents, did you read that e-mail from April yet?" Casey asked. "Apparently she's in Africa for the next few months and isn't coming back until the week of the wedding."

"Yeah, I saw that," Cappie said. "I know my parents wouldn't miss my wedding for anything, but I don't expect they'll be around much more than a few days."

"How are you folks doing over here?" a salesman came over to them and asked. "Finding everything you need?"

"We're getting there," Cappie said.

"How about we go check out that stuff you were talking about for the house," Casey said to Cappie.

"Sounds good to me," Cappie said, grabbing her hand as they continued walking through the store.

-GREEK-

"I decided I'm taking your advice and I'm going to start dropping hints to Rusty," Ashleigh said to Rebecca the next day as they were heading toward the crowd that was gathered by Cyprus Lake.

"Maybe if you start now you might get a proposal sometime within the next year or two," Rebecca said jokingly.

"Well it's only been one day," Ashleigh said. "I think you're right in that it may take him a while to catch on, but I know the day he does is going to be the day he's truly ready."

"Who's ready for what?" Rusty asked, walking up behind them.

"You are of course, to win Greek Week once and for all!" Ashleigh said happily, hoping he didn't hear what she told Rebecca.

"This is it," Rusty said with a smile. "Spidey and I are doing the second half of the race; we decided that no matter what happens, we want to be the ones to bring this thing on home."

"As you should be," Ashleigh said. "No one works harder than you guys when it comes to that house."

"I just hope all our hard work this week pays off," Rusty said.

"Okay teams, take your places now!" the Pan-Hellenic president announced over a megaphone.

"That's your cue," Ashleigh smiled. "Good luck. I'll be standing somewhere around here with the camera."

"Thanks," Rusty smiled and kissed her, and then went to go take his place.

"Hey Ash, look what I made last night," Kelsey said as she walked over to Ashleigh and Rebecca after Rusty left. "It's a banner for us to cheer on KT."

"That looks great!" Ashleigh said as she looked at the banner she had decorated that said 'Go Kappa Tau'.

"Yeah," Kelsey said. "Now let's get our butts to the front of the crowd so we can actually see this a little."

-GREEK-

"So how did things go at the store yesterday?" Katie asked Casey as they were walking back into their apartment building after grocery shopping.

"It went great," Casey said. "And it's one more thing to check off of our things to do before the wedding list."

"Is your list getting any smaller?" Katie asked. "With our wedding, it seemed like whenever we checked something off our list, we had to add something else to it that we forgot."

"Right now it's getting smaller, but we'll see how that goes as it gets closer," Casey said with a chuckle.

"I hope it stays that way for you," Katie said. "I wonder how Tom and Cappie are doing with Lizzie."

"Cappie loves her; I could tell he was excited when I said we were going grocery shopping just for an hour," Casey said with a laugh. "Just so he'd get some time to play with her."

"She really enjoys both of you," Katie said. "And take that as a first sign that Cappie's going to be a good father when the time comes for you."

"Oh I have a good feeling he will be," Casey said as they arrived on their floor. "You should have seen him with my little cousins when we were at my parents' house for Christmas. They had him playing games with them for hours."

"I bet it was cute," Katie said. "He seems really great with kids. I'm just going to set my groceries down and then I'll be over to check on them."

"Okay," Casey said and entered her apartment. She saw Cappie lying on the couch asleep, with Lizzie lying on top of him, also asleep, and the television was turned onto some kind of cartoon. She whispered to herself and smiled, "This is too adorable; I have to get a picture." She grabbed her camera to take a quick picture, and then walked over to Cappie and gently shook him.

"Hey, you," Casey whispered to him, trying not to wake Lizzie.

"Hey, back already?" Cappie asked. "I didn't even realize I fell asleep."

"Looks like both of you did," Casey said. "I just got the most adorable picture of you two asleep; I think I want to put it on Facebook."

"You don't have to do that," Cappie said. "The world doesn't need to see everything that goes on here."

"What's the matter; you don't want the world to see this side of you?" Casey teased. "Because I have to say I quite love it."

"I love that you love it," Cappie smiled. "By the time we have kids of our own, then I'll let you put pictures of me and them on Facebook."

"Okay, I won't take away all your manly dignity just yet," Casey joked.

"Thanks, I appreciate that," Cappie said with a small laugh and kissed her.

-GREEK-

"Come on, you can do it, guys!" Ashleigh cheered as the race was down to the final stretch, and all three teams were still very close.

"They're all still way too close," Rebecca said. "I'm about to make this a little more interesting."

"How so?" Ashleigh asked.

"You'll see," Rebecca said, and walked over to where the Pan-Hellenic president was standing and whispered something in her ear.

"Okay, for the final round of the competition, jump out of your boats and swim the rest of the way over here," the Pan-Hellenic president announced over her megaphone a few seconds later. "The first team back is the winner. And, go!"

"What?" one of the Omega Chis in their boat asked dumbfounded. "Swim? Is she kidding?"

"Come on guys, get out and swim!" they heard Calvin yell, after everyone saw that Rusty and Spidey had jumped out of their boat right when the Pan-Hellenic president said go, and were now swimming way ahead of the Lambda Sig and Omega Chi teams. The other two teams finally jumped out and started swimming as fast as they could, but were too far back to catch up.

"And it looks like we've got a winner, of the competition and the winning fraternity of Greek Week," the Pan-Hellenic president announced when Rusty and Spidey reached the edge of the lake and got out. "For the first time in I don't know how many years, the winning fraternity is Kappa Tau Gamma."

"For the first time in sixteen years," Spidey grabbed the megaphone and clarified, as he and Rusty went over to claim their trophy that was next to her.

"Well there you have it," the Pan-Hellenic president said, presenting them with the trophy, as the Omega Chi and Lambda Sig swimmers finally reached the edge and got out. "And with that, I hereby announce that this year's Greek Week has officially concluded."

"Congratulations guys, you did it!" Ashleigh said excitedly as she walked over to them and snapped a picture. "But you are so dirty and wet right now."

"Oh, it's not that bad," Rusty said teasingly. "Come here!" Rusty walked over to her and hugged her, still dripping wet.

"Rusty Cartwright, what the heck!" Ashleigh yelled, but she was laughing. "I love you and all, but you really need to bathe right now. You've got green stuff on you, and I don't even want to know what it is."

"I couldn't resist," Rusty said, smiling playfully at her.

"You guys, let's go to Dobler's," Spidey said, walking back over to them after most of the KT guys had made their way over. "We're all going to celebrate!"

"Yeah, but don't you think we should shower first?" Rusty asked.

"Well, maybe showering first would be a good idea," Spidey laughed. "So, pit stop at the house and then Dobler's."

"You know these good moments I have with KT, they never get old!" Rusty said to Ashleigh with a huge smile as they began walking away from the lake.

"Okay, you got me now," Ashleigh smiled. "You may smell like lake water and fish and have green slime on you, but you look so happy, I can't not kiss you right now." She put her arms around him and kissed him.

"I love you," Rusty grinned. "Now we both need to shower, so let's do that and then we can celebrate for real!"

A/N: I got this chapter done quicker than normal thanks to midterm break! Hope you liked it; as I mentioned the boat race is something my school does every year, and my friends and I have quite the memories with it, lol.

On another note, does anyone have the Greek season 4 DVD yet? It's released today and the bonus features include behind the scenes footage of the final days of filming, which will be sad, but I'm sure it'll be a must-see!


	15. Halloween Special

Episode #15: Halloween Special

Setting: Set in the 'present' (actually which is the future in real-life time, though!) after #14, but with multiple flashbacks to Halloween

Synopsis: The KTs plan an out-of-season costume party, which causes everyone to remember things that happened on Halloween. Cappie and Casey remember their Halloween adventure in their apartment building.

-GREEK-

"Morning, honey," Cappie greeted Casey with a smile and kissed her. "Whatcha doing?"

"Since we're doing so well on the wedding planning, I figured we could afford to take some time off of it this weekend," Casey said. "So I'm catching up on some scrapbooking. I didn't realize I haven't worked on it in a while."

"Yeah, it looks like it's been a while," Cappie said, looking at the page she was currently working on. "Isn't this from last Halloween?"

"Yeah; remember the deal with that?" Casey asked with a chuckle. "I can't believe you actually thought our floor was haunted. It was kinda funny, though."

"Hey, you can't tell me that you didn't believe in the slightest that there was something fishy going on," Cappie said.

_**~Four Months Earlier; a few days before Halloween 2011~**_

"_CRASH!"_ was the noise that woke Casey up very early one morning.

"Cap, wake up," Casey said, shaking him awake. "I think I heard something."

"What was it?" Cappie asked, waking up.

"Something crashed," Casey said. "It almost sounded like someone was trying to break in."

"_BANG!"_ they heard a noise again.

"Yeah, I wonder what that is," Cappie said and got up. "I'll go check it out."

"Don't go empty handed," Casey said, also getting out of bed and walking over to Cappie's closet. She got one of his golf clubs out of it. "Here, take this."

"Pssh, I don't need that," Cappie said. "Whoever's out there, I can take them."

"Okay, macho man," Casey joked. "But just to be safe, I'm following you with the golf club."

"Please, just stay here," Cappie assured her. "I'll handle it." Casey finally agreed and Cappie opened their bedroom door and went out in their main room. Casey stood inside their bedroom with the door cracked slightly as Cappie turned on the lights and looked around.

"There's no one here," Cappie said after he was sure their apartment was safe. Casey came out of their bedroom then.

"That was strange," Casey said. "It doesn't look like anything fell, either."

"Maybe it came from outside," Cappie said.

"Probably," Casey said. "We should close the window anyway; it's feeling kind of cold in here."

-GREEK-

_**~Back to Present: CRU~**_

"A costume party this weekend when it's not even Halloween," Dale said to Calvin at the Omega Chi house. "This ought to be interesting."

"Who's having a costume party?" Calvin asked.

"The KTs apparently," Dale said, handing Calvin the flyer he had. "Rusty said it's a 'rejected Halloween costume party' and you're supposed to wear your worst Halloween costume you've ever had."

"Well the KTs do love to dress up in costume for some reason," Calvin laughed. "I can pull off my worst costume by wearing what I had to wear at our haunted house when I was a pledge."

"Yeah, the pledges always get the worst costumes," Dale said. "We really know how to do a scary haunted house, though. Last Halloween, I remember this one little girl got scared so badly and then her mom started cursing me out."

_**~Halloween 2011~**_

"Trick or treat!" Evan said happily as he and Rebecca walked into the Omega Chi house.

"Hey," Calvin, who was dressed in costume, greeted happily. "You weren't the little kids we were expecting."

"The Omega Chi haunted house is a Halloween tradition so we had to stop by and see how you pulled it off," Evan said.

"I'd say it's enough to scare little kids," Rebecca commented.

"I see you two pulled off the Evil Queen and the Big Bad Wolf costumes," Calvin observed. "Reminds me of the Fairytale Ball a few years back."

"It just fits us so well," Rebecca said.

"Isn't ZBZ doing something for Halloween?" Calvin asked Rebecca.

"Most of the sisters ended up going to the Kappa Tau party so I just stuck a few of the pledges with the job of handing out candy to little kids," Rebecca said. "Ashleigh was trying to get us to go trick-or-treating."

"You should go," Calvin said. "It's Halloween; the day everyone has the chance to be a kid again. If I wasn't running the haunted house here, I'd come with."

"Why the heck not; we should go out," Evan said. "I actually know some of the best places to go; Cappie, Casey, and I went our freshman year."

"Why don't you guys take a walk through here before you go," Calvin said, as he looked outside and saw children in costume walking toward the house. "It looks like we've got our first round of kids coming."

-GREEK-

_**~Back to Present: KT House~**_

"Whoa," Ashleigh said taken aback when she and Kelsey entered the KT house and saw someone dressed up in a very freaky clown costume. "What's going on here?" They noticed a few more guys were trying on costumes, and then they saw Rusty and Spidey walking over to them.

"Please, take that thing off," Rusty ordered the guy in the clown costume. "It's really freaking me out."

"It's my worst costume ever; that's what it's supposed to do," Pickle said, taking off his mask and walking away.

"You guys know Halloween was _last_ semester, right," Kelsey said, continuing to look around the house. "You already had a party, remember?"

"Yeah, and this weekend we're having a _rejected_ Halloween party," Rusty said. "A few of the guys thought of the idea and I actually think it's going to be pretty awesome."

"Yeah, and the idea is to recreate and wear the worst Halloween costume you've ever had," Spidey said.

"I know exactly what mine would be," Ashleigh said. "Third grade; I was sick the entire week before Halloween so my mom decided to go out and buy a costume for me. Let's just say she did not do a very good job."

"One of mine could be what you guys made me dress up as last Halloween as a part of your master plan to scare your pledges," Kelsey said.

"Yeah, that was pretty hysterical, I've gotta say," Rusty said.

"We got them so good," Spidey said. "They thought the house was actually haunted."

_**~Halloween 2011~**_

"This Halloween is going to be the best ever," Rusty said. "Every year, the actives pull a scare on the pledge class, and I think we've got a good one this year. It took us a while, though."

"It must have always been easy to come up with something because the old house was so, well, old," Spidey said. "But now we have to get them to believe a house that's not even two years old has a ghost in it."

"So you're going to tell them ghost stories," Ashleigh said. "That kinda reminds me of Virginia Horton at the ZBZ house."

"Virginia who?" Kelsey asked curiously.

"The ghost who we thought lived in the ZBZ house a few years ago," Ashleigh said.

"Wow, you didn't tell me I lived in a haunted house," Kelsey joked.

"The house isn't really haunted," Ashleigh said. "But we got the pledges to think it was during their lock-in."

"That's exactly what we're doing to our pledges," Rusty said, smiling mischievously. "Did you know that before our house was built there was an old house here that burned down in 1978 and the man who lived there died?"

"Yeah, we found it in some of the old CRU records in the school library," Spidey said.

"They suspected the fire was started accidentally on purpose by some CRU fraternity members," Rusty said. "There was a huge investigation for over two years to find out who did it, but eventually they called it off due to lack of evidence."

"Maybe it really was started by some fraternity guys," Ashleigh said. "And the guy was so mad about it that he vowed to come back and haunt any fraternity that moved in on his property."

"And that's exactly how we stretch a true story and still make it believable," Rusty said.

-GREEK-

_**~Back to Present: CRU~**_

"What is all of that?" Katherine asked Ashleigh as she saw her struggling with some boxes while walking toward the elevator in their apartment building. "Need some help?"

"That would be great," Ashleigh said as Katherine grabbed a few boxes from her pile. "Some more favors for Casey's wedding just came in the mail. Soon I'm going to start running out of places to put this stuff in my apartment."

"I can probably put some of it in mine," Katherine said as they got on the elevator. Ashleigh's phone went off and she set her boxes down to check it.

"Rusty just texted me," Ashleigh said to Katherine. "I said I'd go to the store with him to pick up some stuff for costumes for the party."

"Walter was telling me that the KTs are having a costume party," Katherine said. "They do know Halloween was four months ago."

"Yeah, the idea is to wear your worst costume ever," Ashleigh said. "It does remind me of last Halloween, though. I still can't believe you'd never gone trick-or-treating before."

_**~Halloween 2011~**_

"Halloween isn't just for kids you know," Ashleigh said to Katherine as she was at her apartment. "All the houses are doing something for the neighborhood kids. We should do something fun ourselves."

"Do you know I've never even been trick-or-treating before?" Katherine asked.

"WHAT?" Beaver exclaimed surprised from where he was sitting in the living room, sounding like she'd just told him she had a sex change operation. "How did I not know that about you?"

"Yeah, what kind of kid survives childhood without going trick-or-treating?" Ashleigh asked.

"My mother always thought it was unsafe," Katherine said. "And honestly I never really wanted to go back then. My neighborhood was awful on Halloween."

"Hey, that's what we can do this year!" Beaver spoke up. "We can all go trick-or-treating before the KT party."

"Twenty three year-olds going trick or treating?" Katherine asked. "Isn't that kind of thing frowned upon?"

"It's a college town; there are not many things that surprise townies around here anymore," Beaver chuckled.

"We'll just use costumes to make ourselves look as young as possible," Ashleigh said.

"All right then; here's to living a part of my lost childhood I guess!" Katherine said and then someone knocked on the door. Beaver answered it and found Heath and Wade there.

"Hey guys, we're going trick-or-treating for Halloween, want to come?" Beaver asked them.

"Free candy is the next best thing to free beer," Wade said, and turned to Heath who nodded. "We're in!"

-GREEK-

_**~Back to Present: After Class~**_

"I hope you don't need any special effects for this party," Dale said to Rusty as they were walking out of class.

"I think we can do without some of the effects this time," Rusty said with a laugh.

"Good, because we really don't need a repeat of the Halloween ordeal," Dale said. "Wiring your entire house was a piece of cake, but taking it all apart after Halloween was awful."

"Yeah I remember," Rusty said. "It took us two days to get electricity back at our house."

"Who knew undoing something was more complicated than doing it," Dale said.

_**~Halloween 2011~**_

"This is genius," Spidey said as he and Rusty were watching Dale mess with some electrical wires in the KT living room. "How'd you learn to do all this, by the way?"

"Please, it's not that hard," Dale said. "When I was in the eighth grade, I hooked everything in my bedroom up to one remote control. Wiring an entire house is just the next step up."

"So all we have to do is push these buttons and that'll make things act weird?" Rusty asked, investigating the remote control that Dale set on the coffee table. "What's this one do?" He asked, about to push a blue button on the remote.

"I wouldn't push that just yet," Dale tried to warn, but Rusty had already pushed it.

"AAHHH!" they heard a scream from upstairs. "WHERE DID THE COLD WATER GO?"

"That's supposed to turn all the water off," Dale said. "But I still have a few technicalities to fix; right now it only turns off the cold water and not the hot."

"Sorry!" Rusty yelled to the unfortunate person in the shower upstairs.

"Do you really think this is going to work?" Dump Truck asked, entering the kitchen.

"Of course it's going to work," Rusty said. "The first thing that's going to make them suspect something is if things start acting odd around here."

"Yeah, like things turning on or off unexplained," Spidey said. "And making weird noises."

"If this really works, it'll be the greatest Halloween prank ever," Dump Truck said. "But where do we go from here?"

"Well, here's the plan…," Rusty began.

-GREEK-

_**~Back to Present: Cappie and Casey~**_

"You know I think it was our scary movie marathon that got us a little paranoid," Casey said. "Which one of us decided that we were going to watch horror movies in the dark when it was storming outside?"

"I may have made that decision but only because I wanted to scare _you_," Cappie said with a chuckle. "But just for the fun of it, and well, for other motives too."

"I'll admit that scary movies give guys the strangest power to seduce their girlfriends," Casey said.

"Scary movies, pumpkin pie, and the ghost of Room 413," Cappie said. "Last Halloween was pretty interesting; I've gotta say."

_**~Halloween 2011~**_

"_SNAP! CRACKLE! POP!_" were the noises Cappie and Casey heard outside as a thunderstorm was going through.

"Remind me why we're watching a horror movie in the dark when there's a thunderstorm outside," Casey said to Cappie as they were sitting on the couch watching the TV.

"What's the matter, are you scared already?" Cappie asked playfully. "Because if you are, then just come in reach of my arms and that'll all go away."

"I see why you picked this movie now," Casey said teasingly. "You know you don't need scary movies to seduce me."

"It was a fun idea," Cappie said with a laugh. Suddenly they heard a noise coming from the door.

"What was that?" Casey asked. "It sounded like someone was just trying to open our door."

"That's strange, cause there's no one out there" Cappie said, after walking over to the door and looking out the peephole. He opened the door and Casey followed him over. They stepped out in the hallway and then saw Katie heading back toward her apartment.

"Oh hey you two," she greeted when she saw Cappie and Casey. "What are you up to?"

"We thought we heard someone at our door," Casey said. "And this isn't the first time this week we've heard strange things around here."

"Yeah, I've been hearing some strange things around here myself," Katie said. "I talked to a few of our other neighbors and they said it's probably because someone's moving into Room 413."

"What's wrong with room 413?" Cappie asked confused.

"Oh, I can't believe you haven't heard the story yet," Katie said. "Rumor has it that room's been haunted for some time now. Strange stuff starts happening when someone new is getting ready to move in. No one's lived there for at least a year, and I haven't seen anyone live there for longer than a month. And come to think of it I did see a new couple checking out the room a few days ago."

"A room on our floor is haunted?" Cappie asked with a laugh. "Why would anyone want to live there then?"

"No one knows about the story until after they move in," Katie said. "Personally, I haven't believed in that kind of stuff since I was a kid and I think the strange noises are all a coincidence, but it's just funny to watch how people react. About a year after Tom and I moved in, we had these really obnoxious grad students move in on this floor, and as soon as we told them the ghost story, they were gone within the week. But I really hope I'm not scaring you two right now because I actually like you as neighbors."

"No, of course not, what grown person really believes in that stuff anyway?" Casey asked with a laugh. "I'm sure it's just a coincidence, right Cap? I mean; Halloween is in a few days. Weird stuff always happens at Halloween."

"Pshh, yeah, I mean we're too old to believe in that stuff, right," Cappie said, trying to sound convincing. "I mean, just a few years ago I might have actually believed the KT house was haunted, but that house was going on a hundred years old, so it was understandable."

-GREEK-

_**~Halloween 2011: KT House~**_

"So our annual Halloween party is in just a few more days," Rusty announced to the pledges in the KT living room. "It's time to break out your costumes and get ready for beer, girls, and scary stuff."

"I bet Halloween is awesome here," Pledge Curly spoke up. The other pledges nodded in agreement."

"Believe me, it is," Rusty said. "We always have the best party on Greek Row; the only thing that comes close to what we have is the Omega Chi haunted house, but even the people who go there end up here. You see, this is what we do…" He was interrupted when the lights suddenly went out and the room turned black. "Well that was just weird; it's not even storming outside. Anyway, I'll go get a flashlight." Just then the TV flickered on and back off again, but the lights still remained off.

"Why'd the TV just do that?" Pledge Barney asked. "The electricity's out; that's not even possible."

"The lights are on at the Tri Pi house across the street," Pledge Barf said, looking out the window. "Did you not pay the electric bill?"

"Spitter wouldn't forget to pay the electric bill," Pledge Larry said. "Haven't you guys noticed all the other weird stuff that's been happening the last few days? Like the doorbell that rings when no one's at the door."

"Come to think of it, I was in the bathroom the other day and I'm pretty sure the toilet flushed," Pledge Moe said. "On its own." Just then the kitchen lights came back on, but the living room lights remained off.

"Now that's just creepy weird," Pledge Alfred Hitchcock said.

"I think it's time we tell them what's going on here," Anthony Hopkins said, entering the room with a few other brothers following.

"I don't know; I'm not so sure they're ready for this," Rusty said.

"They have to know what to expect," Dump Truck said.

"Expect what?" Pledge Barney asked worried. "Wait, are we being Punk'd?"

"No, there is something going on and I guess it's time you all know," Rusty said to the pledges. "There's a pretty good possibility that our house is haunted."

"Like, by a real ghost?" Pledge Barf asked. "Oh my God, did someone die in here? My aunt and uncle live in a house that someone died in. Every time I'd stay over there, I had to sleep in the dead person's bedroom. It always gave me the creeps to no end."

"No one died in our house, per se," Rusty said. "This place is less than two years old. But this lot that our house is on now, it has a bit of a history."

"Yeah, it's all right here in the newspaper," Spidey said, walking over and holding up an old newspaper with the headline, 'HOUSE FIRE KILLS ONE: CRU GREEKS SUSPECTED.'

"The year was 1978," Rusty began, taking the newspaper from him. "There was a house here where an old, evil man lived that everyone on Greek Row hated."

"Why was some old dude living on Greek Row?" Pledge Larry asked.

"You know now that Greek Row isn't all fraternities and sororities," Rusty said. "A few other people have houses here; kind of like the Hilgendorf's, who lived next door to us at our old house. It was like that back then too."

"Did people from CRU actually like, burn his house down?" Pledge Moe asked. "Who would do that? Even we as KTs wouldn't pull something like that. We don't want to be arrested for arson."

"They never found out who did it," Rusty said. "The university tried for over two years to find out, but in the end they dropped the case because of lack of evidence."

"And the thing is too, it happened on Halloween night," Spidey spoke up.

"Yeah, rumor has it that he hated Halloween and he wouldn't answer his door to any trick-or-treaters," Rusty said. "And a whole bunch of people, none of who were probably sober, ganged up and set fire to the house. He was asleep when it happened and by the time he woke up, it was too late to escape. Passersby called 911, but they didn't get there in time. Just before he died, someone heard him yell, 'Any fraternity that ever builds here will be sure to face my wrath!'"

"And we're the first fraternity that's been on this property since then," Spidey said.

"What else is he going to do to us; like try to get us to leave?" Pledge Barney asked. "Or worse…"

"We don't know what's going to happen next," Rusty said. "But be afraid; be very afraid. Because nothing's impossible on Halloween."

-GREEK-

_**~Back to Present: KT House ~**_

"Great party idea, Spitter," Beaver said to Rusty. "This is one we're for sure not going to miss."

"Yeah, I remember we were going to come to the Halloween party here, but because of an unfortunate incident, we couldn't," Wade said.

"I can't believe those people actually wanted to put you guys in jail just for having shaving cream," Rusty said.

"They thought we actually vandalized their house," Beaver said. "It's a good thing I never had to deal with people like them in high school. Every Halloween, all I did was run around town with shaving cream and eggs."

_**~ Halloween 2011: Trick or Treating~**_

"Trick or treat!" Beaver and Wade shouted when a woman in the house they were at answered the door.

"Dang college kids," the woman said angrily. "I've seen about fifty of you already tonight, and I tell them all the same thing. We're not a freaking charity; if you're over the age of twelve, do you really need to be trick-or-treating?"

"But getting free candy is so much fun," Wade said.

"Well you're not getting any from me," the woman said. "If you're really that needy, you might want to try the Cyprus Soup Kitchen."

"Well then, Happy Halloween to you too," Beaver said sarcastically. "Oh, and just so you know, one side of your house is covered in shaving cream and TP."

"What!" the woman shouted, outraged. She ran outside and around to the side of her house, as Beaver and Wade began walking away. "EARL!" she called out, and the man who appeared to be her husband walked out of the house. "LOOK AT WHAT THOSE COLLEGE KIDS DID! STOP THEM, RIGHT NOW!"

"Hold up right there, boys," Earl said, stopping Beaver and Wade from going any further.

"What; we didn't do it!" Wade shouted in alarm. "My friend here just saw it as we were walking by, and thought he should tell you."

"As if," Earl scoffed. "What's that your friend has in his hand? And you have one, too."

"This here bag of candy," Beaver said, holding it up.

"The other hand," Earl said.

"Oh, a can of shaving cream," Beaver said, acting like he forgot he had it. "It's just for fun; I haven't used it on anyone all night, I swear."

"I want them thrown in jail!" the woman exclaimed, coming over to her husband. "College kids around here think they can just walk all over everyone else in this town, and that's the kind of attitude that needs to stop."

"Since I'm a licensed police officer, I'm taking you two down to the station right now," Earl said to Beaver and Wade.

"But…we swear we didn't do anything!" Beaver shouted as he and Wade were escorted to Earl's car.

_**~Ashleigh, Katherine, and Heath~**_

"Where are they?" Heath asked Ashleigh and Katherine as they walked down a street.

"They told us to meet them here after we made a stop at the Omega Chi haunted house," Ashleigh said. "Which by the way Calvin did an amazing job putting together." Just then, Katherine's phone went off.

"Walter, where are you at?" Katherine asked, answering it.

"Can you come down to the jail?" Beaver asked nonchalantly.

"Jail?" Katherine asked worriedly. "What happened?"

"I'll tell you when you get here," Beaver said. "But we didn't do anything; it was all a mistake!"

_**~At Jail~**_

"Your friends are under arrest for vandalism of property," an officer told Ashleigh, Katherine, and Heath upon their arrival at the jail. "The owners reported that part of their house was covered in shaving cream, toilet paper, and egg yolks, and vulgar language was written on it."

"It wasn't us; we swear!" Beaver said as he and Wade were escorted over to them by another officer.

"They were caught with shaving cream in front of the house that was covered in it," the officer said.

"If he said they didn't do it, I believe him," Katherine told the officers.

"Unfortunately since you two weren't with them at the time of the incident," one of the officers said. "We can't take your word for it. They're not in serious trouble, though."

"We're not?" Wade asked.

"No, but we are keeping you here for another few hours until the Halloween parties are over," the officer said. "Along with all of the other vandals we've caught tonight."

"Looks like we're not going to KT tonight," Beaver said to Katherine and Ashleigh in a dejected tone. "At least we've got these sacks of candy to get us through."

"I don't think you guys did this, either," Heath said to them as the officers stepped away momentarily. "Just come over really late tonight when you get out of this place; you know the KTs are going to be partying til dawn. We'll save you some apple cider shots."

"Thanks; we'll be there as soon as we can escape the injustice of the law," Wade said.

-GREEK-

_**~Halloween 2011: Cappie and Casey~**_

"Well it's getting late, so I'm guessing we've probably almost reached the end of our trick-or-treaters," Casey said to Cappie as she came back inside from giving candy to a few kids. "It's nice they have trick-or-treating right here in the apartment. It's better for the kids to be in here rather than out on the streets of D.C."

"That was a total mom comment right there," Cappie said with a laugh.

"Oh my gosh, I need to stop myself from making those," Casey chuckled. "I'm too young to be turning into my mother." Just then they started to hear a mysterious creaking noise. "What was that?"

"Could it be the ghost of Room 413?" Cappie asked.

"You're still thinking about that?" Casey asked.

"Yeah," Cappie said. "But do I want to go into Room 413? Heck no."

"You know maybe we should go in there," Casey said. "To investigate this for real. The people aren't moving in for another few days and strangely the room's always unlocked."

"Wait, you've been in there?" Cappie asked.

"I might have gone to check it out earlier today," Casey said.

"So you do suspect something!" Cappie said teasingly. "Admit it; I'm not crazy."

"I was just, well, curious," Casey said.

"And what did you find out?" Cappie asked.

"Well about ten seconds after I walked in I heard the sound of breaking glass," Casey said. "But it turned out it was just someone walking down the hall carrying some new dishware she bought. She dropped one of her glasses."

"But wasn't it weird that happened right after you walked in that room," Cappie said. "Katie said no one's lived there for almost a year, meaning no one's lived there since we've lived here. I'd say the best bet for us is to stay _out_ of Room 413."

"What's the matter?" Casey asked teasingly. "You scared?"

"Pshh, of course not, scared of a little ghost," Cappie said. "Okay, I'll be the man and go into Room 413 with you. We can even spend the night there."

"Okay, why the heck not," Casey said. "Maybe we can prove to ourselves and everyone else who's freaked out by this that we're being completely irrational."

-GREEK-

_**~Back to Present: KT Party~**_

"Wow, these are some really bad costumes," Calvin said to Rusty as he found him at the party. "I guess everybody does have that 'worst Halloween ever' during their childhood."

"Hey Spitter, just for the record," a pledge interrupted before Rusty could respond. "You didn't invite any ghosts to this party, did you?"

"No, I promise there aren't any ghosts coming," Rusty laughed.

"That was pretty hilarious last Halloween how they all got so scared," Calvin said after the pledge walked away.

"Yeah, I swear that by the time of the Halloween party, some of them were thinking about writing their wills," Rusty said.

_**~Halloween 2011: KT House before the party~**_

"We might as well drink all we can tonight in case we don't live to see tomorrow," Pledge Barf said to his group of pledge brothers as they were getting set up for the party. "With everything we've seen this week I think this 'spirit' is going to try to kill us or something."

"What, just because there've been a few things going wrong with the electricity and strange sounds around the house," Pledge Curly said. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm beginning to think this is all a hoax."

"It can't be," Pledge Barney said. "What about some of the stuff in the house that ended up outside when we were all in our chapter meeting the other day? That's a sign right there that the ghost wants us gone!"

"But think about it," Pledge Curly said. "The actives aren't as scared as we are."

"I think they're just pretending not to be scared," Pledge Alfred Hitchcock said. "But really, they're probably just as scared as we are." Just then the music that was on suddenly stopped playing and they could hear rustling over the speakers.

"Oooohhh, eeeeeeee," a creepy voice said over the speakers. "I see we've got ourselves a little Halloween party going on tonight."

"Wwwho was that?" Pledge Larry asked.

"It's the ghost!" Pledge Barf shouted. "Run for your life!" He started running but ended up running smack into Rusty. "The ghost is talking to us!"

"Yeah, I really think he is!" Pledge Larry said, walking over to them. "We set up the speakers and turned the music on but then it shut off and he just started talking!"

"Was that the ghost?" Anthony Hopkins asked, walking out into the yard followed by the rest of the actives.

"Are you sure it wasn't one of you guys inside doing that?" Pledge Moe asked.

"Be afraid, be very afraid," the creepy voice said again.

"No, it wasn't one of us," Rusty said. "We're all out here now and no one's even near the sound system."

"What do you want from us?" Pledge Barf shouted to the voice.

"I want your souls!" the voice shouted.

"Okay, I'm getting out of here!" Pledge Barf said. "Who's with me? If we don't leave, our lives will be ruined, meaning we won't be alive anymore!"

"We can't let a ghost ruin our party," Rusty said. "Think about it; there are sixty of us against one of him; I think we can handle that."

_**~Halloween 2011: Cappie and Casey~**_

"So this is it," Cappie said to Casey as they stepped inside Room 413. The door slammed behind them, causing both of them to jump, and the room became almost completely dark.

"Is it just me or does it smell weird?" Casey asked.

"No, it definitely smells," Cappie said, sniffing the air. "It smells like fish, oddly enough."

"I guess whoever wants to live here must like fish," Casey said. "So, now that we're in here, I guess we just wait and see what happens." Just then they heard movement coming from somewhere in the room. "Where is that coming from?"

"This is kinda odd but it sounds like it's coming from…behind the walls?" Cappie said confused as he followed the source of the noise. "Maybe that's where the ghost lives."

"Cap, look up there; there's light coming from the air conditioning vent," Casey said, pointing up at the vent that was close to the ceiling.

"It just turned off," Cappie noticed as he looked up. "Which means someone, or something, is in there right now!"

"What if the ghost isn't really a ghost?" Casey asked. "Maybe it's a real person who's like, living in the air conditioning vents above this room. That could explain some of the things we've been hearing."

"Like a homeless person?" Cappie asked. "Well, I guess if I were homeless, hiding in here would be a lot better than living on the streets."

"Maybe we should just climb up there and see for ourselves what's going on," Casey said.

"And I thought my days of crawling through AC vents were over," Cappie laughed. "Whenever my parents and I would stay at a hotel when I was a little kid, somehow I'd always get caught sneaking into the vents. I had strange fascinations when I was a kid."

"I think everyone does," Casey chuckled. "So do you want to do this?"

"Yeah, let's go for it," Cappie said. "I may have been hesitant about coming in here at first, but hey, what's Halloween without an adventure?"

-GREEK-

_**~Back to Present: KT Party~**_

"I look freaking ridiculous," Kelsey said to Spidey with a laugh as they were at the party and she was dressed as a zombie. "But it's a fact that this is my worst costume ever. For me and for the ZBZ pledges I had to recruit to help you guys out last Halloween."

"I don't know; I'd say you're the best looking zombie at this party," Spidey said with a smile.

"Why thanks," Kelsey smiled. "I don't know if it's even possible to look 'good' dressed in a zombie costume; but I think we looked pretty realistic last Halloween."

"You were all very realistic looking zombies," Spidey agreed with a laugh. "That was the last straw for our pledges when they saw you guys; if we didn't tell them then that it was all a prank, they would have probably fled the country."

"It was those voice disguising devices that really made us believable," Kelsey said. "Although this time I left that part out of my costume and toned down the effects a bit. So as to try not to give your pledges déjà vu."

_**~Halloween 2011: KT Party~**_

"Maybe you were right," Pledge Barney said as the party was now under way. "Maybe this whole 'ghost' thing was a hoax. Nothing out of the ordinary has happened since the party started."

"I told you so," Pledge Curly said. "I grew up as the youngest in my family and my older siblings tried to pull this kind of stuff on me all the time. After about the fifth time, I finally learned not to think anything of it." Suddenly, they heard screams coming from somewhere in the crowd and the music ceased playing again.

"Oh my God, get this thing off of me!" a KT pledge across the yard shouted, and the other pledges turned to see what was going on, and they saw a group of zombies making their way through the KT backyard.

"Okay, it's not a prank!" Pledge Barney shouted. "The ghost must have sent these zombies, and _they_ are who are going to KILL US!"

"Don't panic," Pledge Curly said. "They can't be real."

"Why don't you see for yourself; there's one standing right behind you," Pledge Barf said.

"AAHHH!" Pledge Curly shouted after he turned around. "Whoa, you sure look pretty real, though! Can I, uh, get you something to drink? Other than my blood?"

"Ggrrrr," was all the zombie said before he started to grab him.

"You know these apple cider shots are really good," Pledge Curly said, trying to back away.

"I don't think he's very into the cider shots," Pledge Larry said.

"Well can you do me a favor and like, I don't know, get him off of me!" Pledge Curly shouted. Still trying to get free, he looked around the crowd and saw some other KT pledges getting attacked by some of the other zombies. "Wait, why are they only after us? And why is everyone else going back into the house and leaving us here?"

"This is it!" Pledge Barf shouted, as he now had a zombie after him, too. "We've gotta convince the actives now that we need to get off this property and find a new house."

"I don't think that'll be necessary, guys," Rusty said. "You can let go of them now." The zombies backed away from the KT pledges and revealed their faces.

"Wait, they're chicks!" Pledge Moe said. "ZBZ chicks!"

"Happy Halloween; we got you!" Rusty and the actives said together.

"You got ZBZ pledges to dress up as zombies just to fool us?" Pledge Larry asked. "This is all a joke now, right?"

"It was a joke, courtesy of all of us," Rusty said. "A little something that happens to the pledge class every Halloween."

"You guys were legit scared out of your minds the past few days," Dump Truck spoke up. "It was hilarious."

"So now that we know a real ghost isn't going to visit us tonight," Anthony Hopkins said. "Let's get the party going again!"

-GREEK-

_**~Back to Present: Cappie and Casey~**_

"I can't believe that guy had been living behind the walls of that room for almost ten years," Cappie said to Casey.

"He was pretty clever though to find a trap room behind the walls of Room 413 that you can only get to through the air conditioning vents," Casey said. "How he pulled it off for so long and didn't get caught though is beyond me."

"I guess he snuck around so much that people really did start thinking it was a ghost," Cappie said. "And when he heard new people were moving into the room, he went out a lot more to find and stock up on food. That's why we kept hearing more strange stuff at Halloween."

"I'm glad we ended up taking him to a homeless shelter," Casey said. "He was just lonely and had no one to help him. And he's since found a job and is living a much better life."

"And so we come to the conclusion of the story of the Ghost of Room 413," Cappie said in a fake dramatic voice.

"And the Halloween portion of my scrapbook is now complete," Casey said, as she looked at her page one more time before closing her scrapbook.

"Hey, you know what we should do?" Cappie asked. "I know we said we'd take the weekend off from wedding planning, but I've been thinking a lot about where we should go on our honeymoon."

"Me too; we should really decide about that," Casey said.

"I really want to surprise you with the place but I also want to know some places you might like to go," Cappie said.

"I've got a whole list of places I'd love to go to," Casey smiled. "I didn't want to just throw dream ideas at you, but I've got them."

"Go ahead; I want you to throw them at me," Cappie smiled. "So tell me, if money were no object, where you'd like to go."

-GREEK-

_**~ Present: KT House~**_

"I'd say our rejected Halloween costume party was a success," Spidey said to Rusty as they were watching the pledges clean up after the party the next day.

"I'd say," Rusty said. "It didn't quite top Halloween but it was close." Just then Rusty's phone rang. "Hello…Uh huh…Yeah…Yep, we'll be there next week…Thanks, bye." He hung up. "That was the place in Myrtle Beach confirming our reservation for spring break."

"Yeah, I can't believe that's next week already," Spidey said. "I wonder what crazy epic adventures we'll all get up to this year."

"Spitter, mail for you," a pledge said, walking by armed with envelopes, a few of which he handed to Rusty.

"Thanks, pledge," Rusty said, taking the envelopes and just staring at them for a moment.

"You're looking at them like someone sent you drugs in there," Spidey said. "Who are they from?"

"They're university letters," Rusty said, slightly nervous. "Opening them is going to tell me where my life's going to be in about three months."

"If you don't open them, give them to me and I'll open them," Spidey said. "You've got nothing to worry about. I'm excited for you right now; you should be too."

A/N: So I realized I had a Thanksgiving, Christmas, and a New Years' chapter, but I didn't have a Halloween one, and with it being around Halloween, I wanted to change that. :) Hope you liked it; I left some room for interpretation for you all to imagine what some of the characters might have dressed up as. I was going to have this chapter up before Halloween but that didn't quite happen, so sorry it's a little late! I also wanted to throw in a lighthearted chapter like this one before things really start winding down in the last five chapters. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up over my Thanksgiving break, which is in just a few weeks so stay tuned! :)


	16. Here For a Good Time

Episode #16: Here for a Good Time

Setting: Starts at CRU; then to Myrtle Beach

Synopsis: While in Myrtle Beach for spring break, a former ZBZ pays a visit to help prepare for a concert, and to try to amend her relationship with a sister once and for all. Meanwhile, a storm hits that leads two Greeks to redefine their relationship, and the gang tries to enjoy themselves while also anticipating upcoming changes.

-GREEK-

"Okay, what's this I'm hearing about Lady Gaga doing a concert in Myrtle Beach?" Rebecca asked Kelsey, walking into her room where she was packing for spring break. "It's all the sisters are talking about and they said it was coming from you."

"I told them I don't know if Lady Gaga is coming," Kelsey said. "But some girl named Frannie, who I guess used to be a sister here, promised Ashleigh she'd get us a top-notch performer for a spring break benefit concert in Myrtle Beach, and Lady Gaga's name might have come up. We're doing it for Clarissa's firm; it's a new approach to youth marketing she wants to try by having clients sponsor it."

"Wait, Frannie?" Rebecca asked. "Last time she promised a performer, it was Justin Bieber and then the little pipsqueak bailed, so Spidey had to step in and be Justin Bieber to make Nationals happy."

"He showed me a video of that one time, and I've gotta say it was pretty hilarious, in a good way," Kelsey said. "Just to be on the safe side, we might want to see which one of our pledges can pull off the best Lady Gaga if this doesn't work out."

-GREEK-

"Frannie?" Ashleigh asked as she answered her phone. "So, how'd it go with Lady Gaga's manager?"

"Gaga's a loss," Frannie sighed. "We're not getting her."

"What?" Ashleigh asked. "So the whole you knowing her manager's sister didn't work out so well? Now what are we gonna do?"

"You didn't let me finish," Frannie said. "I couldn't get Gaga, but I got someone else who's just as good. I got us Katy Perry."

"Are you serious?" Ashleigh asked excitedly. "She's awesome! But are you sure you actually have her?"

"I promise you, this is for real," Frannie said. "This concert is going to happen in Myrtle Beach, so get your marketing skills in gear and make sure we've got some sponsors."

"Believe me, I will," Ashleigh said. "And really, this is amazing; I can't believe you did this."

"Well, I know Casey really loves her," Frannie said. "Now maybe she won't be mad at me when I have to tell her I can't make it into town for the wedding."

"Wait, why not?" Ashleigh asked.

"Work," Frannie said. "After next week I can't get any more time off until later in the summer. But, I'll be there in Myrtle Beach to see you, Casey, and the other ZBZs. I'm still trying to make things up to Casey after everything that happened, so part of this is going to be my wedding gift to her."

-GREEK-

"I can't wait to leave tomorrow," Kelsey said as she and Spidey were walking toward the KT house. "I can really use some time away right now."

"Well get ready because we're going to have an awesome time this year," Spidey said. "Speaking of which, I wanted to ask you if you maybe wanted to ride down with me on the KT bus tomorrow. Unless you're traveling by limousine again this year, or already riding with Rebecca, or Heather, or anyone else. I mean, you can ride with us if you want to. It's a bus with about sixty guys and very few girls, but…"

"Yeah, of course I'll go with you," Kelsey said. "I remember you telling me last year how much fun the KT bus was; now I want to see it for myself."

"It's a blast," Spidey said, as they entered the KT house and saw both Rusty and Ashleigh walking downstairs, and Ashleigh looked like she was excited about something.

"So are we getting Lady Gaga?" Kelsey asked hopefully.

"No, apparently she's booked up for like, the next year," Ashleigh said. "But, Frannie got us someone else who just happened to have some time off. Katy Perry!"

"Really, I love her!" Kelsey exclaimed. "Are we going to get to meet her?"

"If Frannie really knows her like she says she does, then we should," Ashleigh said excitedly.

"Please tell me she actually got Katy this time," Spidey said with a laugh. "I may have been able to pull off Justin Bieber; but Katy Perry, I'm not so sure I could do that."

"I'm pretty sure I can trust her on this one," Ashleigh said. "Katy Perry's coming to Myrtle Beach!"

-GREEK-

"Wake up," Dale said to Laura, lightly shaking her as he pulled into a gas station en route to Myrtle Beach.

"Thank God we're stopping," Laura said. "Cause I have to pee."

"Now that you've had a nap, you think we should start putting together our life plan the rest of the way to Myrtle Beach?" Dale asked.

"Do we really have to do that?" Laura asked. "I can't believe the counselor wants us to make this detailed plan of where we're going to be in ten days, ten months, ten years, and fifty years."

"She might have a point," Dale said. "I admit I was a lot hesitant at first about having to go to a marriage counselor, but I'm really starting to like some of the things she's saying."

"Really?" Laura asked. "Because I can't stand her most of the time. She tries to butt in way too much, and now the whole life planning thing. Who really wants to have their life planned out for the next fifty years? What's next; I have to plan what I'm going to die from?"

"She just wants to know we both want the same things in life," Dale said. "We just have to show her we do."

"I mean we do, don't we?" Laura asked.

"Yeah, I think so, well don't we?" Dale asked.

-GREEK-

"Well here we are," Rusty said to Ashleigh as they walked into their hotel room. "This is our last real spring break."

"I know; it's bittersweet," Ashleigh said. "But to be totally honest; I'm kinda glad we're not coming back here next year."

"Really; why's that?" Rusty asked.

"It's my sixth year coming here," Ashleigh said. "I guess it's just getting a bit old; not as exciting as it was when I was actually in college. I jumped on board with Clarissa's idea of having the concert mostly because I knew it would actually make me want to come here again this year."

"You seriously didn't want to come again at first?" Rusty asked. "It may be my fourth year here, but something different happens every year; you just never know what to expect. And this is only our second year here together; isn't there so much more we can do together?"

"Yeah, but a lot of it's the same stuff we've done before with our friends," Ashleigh said. "Please, don't take this the wrong way. I'm just really ready for a change of scenery." She stepped closer to him. "I'm ready for us to have a change of scenery together. Since you got your grad school acceptance letter last week, I've been thinking a lot about the good things that are hopefully going to happen for us."

"There's nothing I want more than to move forward together with you," Rusty said with a smile. "But I already know that leaving CRU and KT is not going to be easy for me. I just want to enjoy the last few weeks I have, and I hope you'll enjoy it with me."

"I understand; I know it's not going to be easy," Ashleigh gave a small smile. "You're right; it's your time and you should enjoy it. And of course I'll be right there enjoying it with you." Just then there was a knock on the door. Ashleigh went to answer it as Rusty started unpacking some stuff from his suitcase.

"Hey," Kelsey greeted as Ashleigh opened the door and saw her. "So I just met Frannie and John, and Frannie said everything's all set with Katy; she's coming on Friday and doing the concert that night."

"That's great; and I didn't think Frannie was getting here until tomorrow," Ashleigh said. "But wait, who's John?"

"Oh, apparently he's the guy she's been dating for about a year now," Kelsey said.

"Really; I didn't know that," Ashleigh said. "I've only really heard from her maybe twice in the past year, but even then she never mentioned a boyfriend."

"Just wait until you see him," Kelsey said. "He looks like a professional roadie."

"Hey Ashleigh," Frannie greeted a moment later, as she approached her and Kelsey at the doorway.

"Hey Frannie; long time no see," Ashleigh greeted her with a smile. "So did you forget to mention you've had a boyfriend for the past year?"

"I was going to tell everyone this week," Frannie said. "But John and I have been keeping things on the down low. He fell asleep right away after we got to our room, but you can meet him later tonight. When's Casey getting here by the way?"

"Not til tomorrow morning," Ashleigh said. "Cappie's taking her for a few stops along the way here."

"Well, despite my doubts about Cappie in the past," Frannie began. "The fact that she's actually marrying him; maybe that says he really is the right guy for her. Anyway, I need to go check out the venue for the concert; want to come with?"

"Check out the venue?" Ashleigh asked confused. "It's a spring break concert; it's on the beach."

"You've obviously never worked in Hollywood a day in your life," Frannie said with a small laugh. "There's more to a concert than just handing Katy Perry a mic and telling her to sing to thousands of spring breakers on the beach. I've still got a lot of work to do to get this concert set up, and then I also have to do some work for Kid Rock that I didn't finish last week. As you can see my job is pretty demanding."

"But you get to work with all these big name stars, so it must be pretty great," Kelsey spoke up. "I can help you out with some things for the concert, if you want. I know Ashleigh and I are working on the marketing and getting our sponsors noticed, but it would be fun to see how these concerts are all put together, you know. I'm sure you could show me some pretty cool stuff."

"I've got a great grand-sis who wants to learn from me; who better could I have asked for?" Frannie said with a laugh. "Okay, if you help me with the concert preparations, I promise you'll be the first to meet Katy."

"Uh, yeah, I'll go for that!" Kelsey said excitedly.

"Great, then let's go," Frannie said. "We've got a lot of work to do."

-GREEK-

'_KNOCK, KNOCK_,' Ashleigh heard a knock at the door the next morning as she was just getting out of the shower.

"Who is it?" she called out.

"It's me!" Casey called excitedly from outside the door.

"Case, hey!" Ashleigh said happily. "I'll be right there in just a second; just let me get, like, not naked."

"Okay, ew; I'm really excited to see you guys right now and all, but TMI," Casey said. "If I should come back later, please tell me now."

"Wow, dirty minded much?" Ashleigh asked jokingly. "Rusty's not even here right now and I meant I just got out of the shower."

"Okay, then awkward moment averted," Casey laughed, and a minute later Ashleigh opened the door fully dressed.

"Case; you finally made it!" Ashleigh said with a smile and gave her a hug.

"Yeah, I thought we were going to get here late last night," Casey said. "But Cappie had other plans and we ended up stopping halfway for the night."

"Yeah, he actually told us not to expect you guys here until this morning," Ashleigh said. "Where is he, by the way?"

"Beaver caught up with him right after we got here," Casey said. "Told us to meet him back in our room."

"Case!" Rusty shouted, and Casey turned around to see him walking down the hallway toward her."

"Hey Russ," Casey greeted him, hugging him when he reached her. "Where have you been already this morning?"

"I was just downstairs with some of the guys," Rusty said. "We're going to set up a game of pledge checkers on the beach. Actually it's part of a whole tournament of pledge games we're going to do this week. Want to come with and watch?"

"Yeah, I could hit the beach right now," Ashleigh said.

"Me too," Casey said. "I'll see if Cappie wants to join us and then we can all go over."

-GREEK-

"Breakfast in bed?" Rebecca asked, pleasantly surprised to see Evan standing over her that morning with a tray of food that he'd presumably gotten from room service. "What's the occasion?"

"Spring break, and the chance to congratulate my girlfriend," Evan smiled.

"Congratulate me, for what?" Rebecca asked confused. "On waking up? I've been asleep for the past seven hours and nothing out of the ordinary happened yesterday. Not that I don't appreciate the breakfast, though."

"I went to check my e-mail on your computer just a little while ago," Evan began. "And I saw you'd left yours on from last night. I just happened to see an e-mail that I think will make you happy; look." He picked up her laptop from the nearby end table and handed it to her.

"I got accepted into grad school in D.C.," Rebecca said after opening her computer and reading the e-mail. "It's about time; I've been waiting to hear from these people for over two months now."

"Just that reaction shows you knew you could get in," Evan said. "I knew you would get in. And yet you've been compulsively checking your mail and e-mail for the past few weeks."

"Well you can never be too sure," Rebecca said. "But it's official now. Looks like I'll be within proximity of Casey and Cappie to bug the heck out of them starting this summer. Erm, I mean, pay them _friendly visits_ every now and then."

"Of course that's what you mean," Evan laughed. "And this winter when I'm done with law school, I'll be able to move out with you. And we can even get an apartment together; that way when I'm studying for the bar exam we'd still actually be able to spend some time together. If you want to, that is."

"If you want to move in together when you're out of law school, then I say yes," Rebecca said. "If you're ready for that step, then I'll do all I can to make sure I'm ready in the next nine months."

-GREEK-

"Hey Case," Frannie greeted her when she saw her, Cappie, Rusty, and Ashleigh walking her way on the beach.

"Did you seriously get Katy Perry?" was the first thing out of Casey's mouth.

"Yes, I got her," Frannie laughed. "How's that for your pre-wedding present?"

"Really, it's more than I ever expected from you," Casey said. "But thanks, and it is great to see you again!"

"Of course it's great to see me; that's why I decided to come here!" Frannie joked. "And really, congratulations to both of you. Cappie, I'll admit I had my doubts about you in the past, but now I think it's safe to say you've proved me wrong."

"Why thanks, big sis…in-law," Cappie said with a small laugh.

"So how's LA?" Casey asked.

"Same as ever, but I did just get a promotion just after the first of the year," Frannie said. "That's partly why I was able to get Katy."

"So this must be the little sister of yours you told me so much about," a man said, approaching them.

"Yep, this is Casey, and her fiancé Cappie," Frannie told the man. "Guys, this is John, my boyfriend."

"Oh, wow, nice to meet you, John," Casey said, and Cappie nodded at him in acknowledgment. "Did you two just start dating?"

"We've actually been dating for about a year now," Frannie said. "John, why don't you get acquainted with everyone else while Casey and I go get some drinks and have a little chat."

"Way to not tell me you had a boyfriend," Casey said as she and Frannie walked away from the group.

"Just as I told Ashleigh yesterday; we were keeping things on the down low," Frannie said.

"He just, doesn't look like the type of guy you'd go out with," Casey said.

"He's a little rough around the edges; I know that," Frannie said. "But he's a great guy and in all seriousness; the first guy I can say I've loved."

"Well if that's the case, then I'm happy for you," Casey smiled.

-GREEK-

"Can you believe we're down to six weeks left until graduation?" Calvin asked as he, Rusty, and Dale were hanging out on the beach. "Then, we'll be official citizens of the real world."

"Yeah, because apparently they say college is like fantasyland," Dale said. "But sometimes I beg to differ."

"Well you do have a pretty real world situation going on right now," Calvin said.

"Yeah, how's that going by the way?" Rusty asked.

"Our marriage counselor wants us to come up with a life plan for ourselves," Dale said. "I don't think it's a bad idea, but Laura thinks it's crazy. I mean, I know where I want to be in a year, ten years, heck even fifty years. But trying to make my plan work with her non-existent plan; well it's a bit of a problem."

"Does anyone really know where they want to be in fifty years?" Calvin asked. "Is it necessary? In the end, the only thing set in stone is your gravestone, and everything that happens between those two dates on it you can't always plan."

"But I don't do uncertainty very well," Dale said.

"I kinda figured that out about you our first week of school when you thought I ruined your kids' and grandkids' futures," Rusty said with a laugh. "But coming into college, did you expect to join a fraternity, have all the friends you've had, get a girlfriend you're crazy about, and marry her before graduation?"

"No, I guess I never could have expected all of that," Dale said.

"But aren't those the things that have been the best part of your time in college?" Calvin asked.

"Well, aside from succeeding academically, yeah," Dale said.

"Then that's proof right there that you don't always have to have a plan," Calvin said. "I had no plan; and then along the way life happened and Heath and I got that first offer to come to India. Sometimes great things happen that change your life and you just can't plan for them."

"But we still need to come up with something for the counselor," Dale said.

"All you have to do is prove to her you're both trying to be on the same page," Rusty said. "That's all you can do. But sometimes it's harder than it sounds."

"What do you mean by that?" Calvin asked.

"It's just, lately I can't seem to share Ash's readiness to start our lives after Cyprus," Rusty said. "I don't know why; I mean I love her, I really do. But I've thought seriously a couple times about just staying at CRU for grad school. But I know I can't do that; I can't stay in Cyprus when she'll be on the other side of the world and expect things to work out. It's probably crazy to even think about staying."

"It just means it's starting to hit you that the end is really happening," Calvin said. "She already went through it once before leaving for New York, so maybe she is more ready for it than you. But if I know you both like I think I do; you're going to make it work."

-GREEK-

"_Well, spring breakers, sorry to rain on your parade, literally,"_ the weatherman on TV said with a chuckle a few days later. _"But the entire Myrtle Beach area is under a severe thunderstorm warning and tornado watch until further notice. Heavy rain is expected to continue for most of the afternoon and evening with storms and possible tornadoes, and everyone is being advised to stay indoors."_

"Well we've been here on spring break for six years and it's barely rained once," Casey said to Ashleigh, who was sitting on the bed in her and Cappie's room with her. "Guess our good weather luck can't last forever."

"Guess today's a good day to finish designing the ads for the concert sponsors," Ashleigh said. "I can get Kelsey to help me once she and Frannie get done with whatever they had to do this morning."

"Does she want to work in the entertainment business or something?" Casey asked. "She and Frannie have just hit it off really well and when we were all at lunch yesterday, they were talking about Frannie's work the whole time."

"That's the thing; she's never mentioned it before," Ashleigh said. "I'll have to ask her later. So you ready to get food downstairs?"

"Yeah, let's go," Casey said. They walked out of Casey's room and then ran into Katherine down the hall.

"Have you seen Walter and the guys lately?" Katherine asked them. "It's getting pretty bad outside and they should be back by now."

"They should be on their way back, seeing as how the beach and every place fun to go around here has been closed for the day," Casey said. The three continued walking down the hall and turned the corner, and then saw Cappie, Rusty, Spidey, and Beaver walking toward them, looking like they'd been in the beach with all of their clothes on.

"Hey guys, is it raining outside?" Ashleigh asked jokingly.

"Just a little bit," Rusty laughed.

"We were just enjoying a rousing pledge game on the beach, and out of nowhere here comes a hurricane," Cappie chuckled.

"They've been calling for rain for three days, Cap," Casey laughed. "Remember, I told you before you left earlier."

"Who pays attention to the weather forecast?" Beaver spoke up. "It never hurts to play in the rain a little!" Just then they all heard a loud clap of thunder and the lights flickered a little.

"Well I guess we got back at a good time," a voice behind them said, and they turned to see Kelsey and Frannie approaching them.

"Where have you been?" Spidey asked.

"Just out, helping Frannie with some more stuff," Kelsey said. "We did make it back at a good time, cause they just announced downstairs that no one's allowed to leave the building until further notice unless it's an emergency."

"That makes sense," Katherine spoke up. "Drunk spring breakers on the beach in a tornado just screams tragedy."

"Looks like we're all riding out this mess here," Cappie said. "I say let's make some fun out of it."

"You guys can come downstairs and get food with us," Casey said. "But first, I think you might want to change."

-GREEK-

"Hey baby," a creepy man said to Casey as she and Rusty were walking by him in the crowd that was now gathered in the hotel lobby partying; no one was letting the storm stop them! "If I followed you home; would you keep me? I'm no Fred Flinstone, but I can make your bed rock."

"Ew, how about no," Casey said disgusted.

"Stop hitting on my sister, creep!" Rusty said demandingly as they tried to escape him, but people in the crowd were blocking them.

"Well I could hit on you, but I thought that might be kind of awkward," the man said.

"And this isn't?" Rusty asked rhetorically. "Come on, Case, let's find Ash and everyone." They finally pushed their way through the crowd.

"I'm all for helping the homeless," Casey began when they were out of sight of the man. "But some of them are just _creepy_."

"I think just about the entire homeless population in the state is in here," Rusty said.

"Oh my God," Casey suddenly said as they continued walking.

"What is it; is there another one?" Rusty asked, turning to look back at her. "Maybe we should just find everyone and go back upstairs."

"No, it's not that," Casey said. "Look over there; is that who I think it is?" She pointed to a couple she saw nearby.

"Isn't that Frannie's boyfriend?" Rusty asked. "But that girl he's with doesn't look like Frannie."

"He is, and she's not," Casey sighed. "Something tells me I'm going to have to do something about this. I'll be over in a minute; I've just got a few things to say to this guy."

-GREEK-

"Hey, come in," Spidey said as he answered his door and saw Kelsey there. "I was just about to come try to find you."

"I just came from downstairs but there were way too many creepy guys," Kelsey said.

"I'm glad you came up," Spidey said. "You haven't been around much the past few days. Frannie's keeping you pretty busy I guess."

"Yeah, and she's told me a lot of stuff about her work in LA," Kelsey said. "You know how when you're a kid, you dream about what you want to be when you grow up, but when you're older, sometimes that dream never happens?"

"Kind of," Spidey said. "But in my case I pretty much knew most of my life I wanted to go into science. Since I was in preschool."

"Well I always wanted to work in Hollywood when I was younger," Kelsey said. "But then when I got older my parents drilled it into my brain about how that wasn't 'rational' and that I needed a better goal for myself. So I just sort of let it go. But after meeting Frannie and learning about what she does, it's all coming back again. But it's not like I could ever do it; I mean I'm just helping her out for the week and then that's it."

"That's not true," Spidey said. "You can do anything you want to do with your life and no one should tell you any different. You want to know why?"

"Why?" Kelsey asked.

"Because, you're this smart, beautiful, and just incredibly amazing person and you give it your all in everything you do," Spidey began. "And anyone who tries to tear you down; well they don't know you at all. Even your parents. But, all you need to know is that one person supports you a hundred and ten percent, and everyone who doesn't shouldn't matter."

"I think that person has been standing right in front of me for over a year now, and it's taken me this long to realize it," Kelsey said, smiling brightly, and then all of a sudden the lights in the room went out.

"Well I guess it's a wonder the electricity stayed on this long the way the weather is," Spidey said quickly. "I think I brought a flashlight; uh, I'll go try to find it."

"Wow, way to ruin a perfectly good moment right there," Kelsey said. "You say what you just said to me, and then the power goes out and all you can think about is finding a flashlight?"

"Really; what are you saying?" Spidey asked, turning back around to face her.

"I'm saying kiss me, you idiot," Kelsey called him jokingly, stepping closer to him.

"Is this really happening, for real this time?" Spidey asked hopefully.

"If you want it to then I want it to," Kelsey smiled.

"Believe me; I've wanted this since the first time I saw you," Spidey said with a smile, and then kissed her. They didn't hear people come in the door until they heard someone bump into something.

"AH, that's my toe!" a voice yelled, causing them to turn to spot the source of the noise. Spidey pulled out his cell phone as a source of light and saw Anthony Hopkins and Dump Truck had come in.

"Guys, what are you doing here?" Spidey asked.

"Well we do all share this room in case you forgot," Anthony Hopkins said with a chuckle. "And we're just getting a hacky sack so we can play in the hallway. It's half dark so this should be good."

"Come join us; the KTs are completely taking over this hallway," Dump Truck said.

"As fun as that sounds; I'm gonna stay here with my girlfriend right now," Spidey said, smiling and putting his arms around Kelsey. "You guys have fun."

"Whoa, girlfriend?" Anthony Hopkins asked surprised. "It's about time, you guys."

"Found the hacky sack," Dump Truck said. "We'll just be on our way now. You kids have fun and use protection! Remember, make love, not babies!"

-GREEK-

"You okay?" Casey asked Frannie, sitting down next to her outside of her room, which was slightly lit up with the flood lights in the hallway.

"I don't know," Frannie said. "I found out John has been cheating on me for months now. And to think I ever thought I loved him; gosh what was I thinking."

"Just because he did what he did to you doesn't mean you didn't love him," Casey said. "It's better to admit you did; it makes it easier to move on."

"I'm not even sure I want to move on," Frannie said. "Yes, I did love him, and I might still, but he says he doesn't want to break up."

"You're not seriously going to stay with him, are you?" Casey asked. "He didn't just do this to you once; he's done it multiple times, with different girls. You deserve so much better."

"You know I was having a bit of a flashback just before you came over," Frannie said. "When Evan cheated on you and I pushed you into staying with him; well at the time I never knew how it felt to have a guy do that to me. Honestly, it sucks, doesn't it?"

"It did, at the time," Casey said. "But I know you deserve better than John and I'm not going to tell you to stay with him because you told me to stay with Evan. It's called being the bigger person, and thinking that things have changed in four years time."

"I have to say this; I'm really sorry, Casey," Frannie said. "The thing with Evan; that's how the mess between you and me all started; how we went from being friends and sisters to practically enemies."

"Practically?" Casey asked jokingly. "We were mortal enemies. But it doesn't bother me anymore. I'm very happy with Cappie now, and leaving CRU almost a year and a half ago really changed my perspective on things that happened in college, including things with you and me. You know I've been working on my CRU scrapbooks in my free time, and I've come across pictures from my freshman and sophomore years of you and me, and I remember just how much you were really there for me then. People go through tough times, and you obviously went through one during your last year at CRU. But, I'm ready to put the past behind us so we can move on, for real. I don't want you to think you have to keep making things up to me or trying to impress me. Not that I don't appreciate you getting Katy Perry to come here."

"I'm ready to move on if you are," Frannie said. "As for the concert, Ashleigh got in touch with me about doing it for her work, and then I got to thinking that I wanted to get someone you'd like; so it'd be like a wedding present for you. Because this is what I need to tell you; unfortunately I won't be able to be in town for your wedding."

"How come?" Casey asked.

"I can't get off work; they gave me an important assignment for that weekend that there's no way out of," Frannie said.

"I'm not mad; it's work, it's not like you're just bailing," Casey said.

"So, we're good?" Frannie asked.

"Yeah, we're good," Casey smiled.

"Now I just have to figure out what to do about John," Frannie sighed. "Thanks, for sticking up for me and talking to him like that down there, though. It really means a lot."

"We're sisters; that's the kind of thing we're supposed to do for each other," Casey said. "As for what you should do, I can't tell you that, but I will say that you've always been a strong person, and you shouldn't lose that. You don't need to take crap from someone you can't trust; you're worth more than that."

-GREEK-

"I just heard the hotel manager talking, and he said the electricity could be out til tomorrow," Rusty said, sitting down at a table next to Ashleigh and handing her one of two drinks he had.

"I hope Katy Perry can still play tomorrow," Ashleigh said. "You know I might have been wrong about saying that coming here is getting a little old. This storm today has sure made things interesting."

"You're telling me," Rusty said. "It's getting late; you know we could head up to our dark room soon and not go to sleep just yet."

"I like the sound of that," Ashleigh smiled seductively and leaned over to kiss him. They grabbed their drinks and started walking out of the lobby and down the hallway, and they were about to the stairs when they ran into Spidey and Kelsey.

"Hey, there you guys are," Kelsey said. "We've been trying to find you for the past half hour."

"You'll never guess what happened today," Spidey said excitedly.

"What is it?" Rusty asked.

"We're together now!" Spidey said.

"Oh my gosh, finally!"Ashleigh said happily, hugging them both. "And it took severe weather for it to happen."

"Mazletof, little bro," Rusty said proudly to Spidey. "I'm really happy for you two."

"I really just want us to go out and celebrate right now," Spidey said.

"But unfortunately we're still stuck inside here until morning," Kelsey said.

"Just think, tomorrow the storm will be over and we'll all be celebrating at the concert," Ashleigh said.

-GREEK-

"If it weren't for the huge puddles and trees down, you wouldn't even know there was a storm yesterday," Cappie said to Casey as they walked outside into the sun the next day.

"You know I just thought of something," Casey said. "We planned for an outdoor wedding reception, but if it rains, we've got no other plan."

"Haven't I told you before that you worry too much?" Cappie asked Casey, putting an arm around her. "Every day you're coming up with something new about the wedding that we need to do, or plan for."

"I can't help myself," Casey said. "It seems like everything that happens makes me thing about something wedding-related that we haven't done, or that we should do, and now this is one thing."

"Haven't you learned from me by now that the best things in life are spontaneous?" Cappie asked. "Think about it; if it did rain on our wedding reception, just think how great of a story that would be someday. Imagine me carrying you and us making a run for it back to the KT house and everyone else following. I think that would be pretty awesome. And you also know they say rain on your wedding day is a sign of a happy marriage."

"So our plan of action if it rains is to run back to the KT house?" Casey asked.

"It can be, or it doesn't have to be," Cappie said, as they stopped and he faced her. "I just don't want you to stress about anything; everything's going to be fine. I love you, and we're going to be together for the rest of our lives; no matter what happens on our wedding day, that's all that matters."

"It's amazing how just a few words like that from you can completely make me stop worrying," Casey smiled. "Although you're going to have to bear with me this last month before the wedding; cause I'm sure it'll happen again. I know you will, though, and I love you."

"You could turn into Bridezilla and I'd still love you," Cappie said. "But that doesn't mean I'm not going to do all I can to keep that from happening."

"I'll try not to let it happen," Casey said with a laugh, and then she kissed him. "Looks like it's almost time for the concert; we better get over there. I want a front row spot."

"Oh, Rusty and Ash and Spidey and Kelsey have been waiting over there for about an hour now," Cappie said. "They're saving front row spots for us and the rest of our friends."

"Great, then let's go!" Casey said excitedly, grabbing his hand as they made their way down the beach.

-GREEK-

"This has got to be, hands down, the best week of my life," Kelsey said to Spidey as they were standing in front of the stage waiting for everyone else to arrive for the concert. "I didn't have to deal with Robert showing up here at all; thank God. I got to rediscover my childhood dream a little, meet one of my favorite singers and will be seeing her in concert soon. And the best part of all, I'm with you now."

"That's the best moment of my week for sure; actually, it'll be the best moment of the year!" Spidey said happily.

"It's only the end of March; we've got plenty of time to top ourselves for the best moment of the year," Kelsey smiled and kissed him. Rusty and Ashleigh came back through the crowd a minute later, bearing drinks for all of them. Cappie and Casey followed almost immediately behind them.

"I propose a toast to KT and ZBZ's newest couple," Cappie announced, raising his drink, and everyone followed suit.

"Cheers!" Ashleigh said, and everyone took a drink.

"So Ash, I hope you're ready for some pre-bachelorette fun in Florida next weekend," Casey said.

"Yeah I am!" Ashleigh said excitedly.

"Oh that's right; you guys are going to be there for the ZBZ convention, right," Kelsey said. "Heather and I finally talked Rebecca into letting us go since we're running for officer positions next year. You know whenever anyone brings up something about next year at ZBZ, Rebecca gets a little annoyed about it."

"She's going to have a harder time leaving ZBZ behind than I ever could have imagined," Casey said. "She's really taken to being in control of the house, and once she leaves, she won't have anyone to be in control of; at least not right away."

"She seemed pretty happy about getting into grad school, though," Kelsey said.

"She wants to graduate but at the same time she doesn't want to leave ZBZ; she's definitely got a case of mixed feelings," Casey said. As if on cue, Rebecca walked over a moment later followed by Evan, who looked like he'd been in the sun way too long.

"You look like a tomato, dude," Cappie said to Evan and laughed.

"You know the point is to get a tan, not bake yourself," Casey joked.

"Very funny," Evan said. "When you girls were out shopping earlier, I took my law books down to the beach to get some studying done. Somewhere along the line I took a break and ended up falling asleep, and next thing I know it was fifteen minutes ago when Rebecca found me and said it was time to come over here." Beaver and Katherine then made their way over to them.

"You'll never guess what we did today," Katherine said excitedly. "We went water skiing! I told myself I would never get on those things, but Walter insisted, and it was so much fun!"

"Wow, you went water skiing?" Casey asked surprised. "I don't even know if I'd trust myself to try it."

"You only live once!" Beaver spoke up. "So you might as well live dangerously."

"You know what; it would be fun, Case," Cappie spoke up. "We've still got time before we leave."

"I still don't know; maybe," Casey said. Calvin and Heath joined them then.

"Heath, when did you get here, man?" Beaver asked, happy to see him.

"Finally just a few hours ago," Heath said. "I was supposed to be here to meet you guys two days ago, but I had flight delays because of the bad weather. It's so great to see you all again; and Katy Perry too, nice!"

"So how'd the cross country recruiting trip go for you?" Cappie asked. "Find more people to go to India?"

"As a matter of fact; quite a few actually," Heath said. "We've officially got ourselves a team to work on the project at the shelter over there."

"Yep," Calvin spoke up. "And we just had a phone call with our manager after Heath got back, and he wants us to leave the weekend after graduation and he said the project should take about a year. And he's considering who to appoint as team leaders, and he said we have a good chance of getting picked."

"That's great news," Ashleigh said. "You guys are so going to get picked; you've got great ideas." Dale and Laura joined them a moment later.

"Everyone, we have a little announcement to make," Dale spoke up.

"Really; right here, right now?" Rusty asked surprised.

"No, it's not what you're thinking," Dale said.

"We're going to California, after graduation," Laura spoke up.

"What; really?" Calvin asked.

"Yeah, I just found out I got a scholarship to grad school at Cal Tech," Dale said.

"And I'm going too, to look for a job I guess," Laura said.

"Well, I guess today's just been a great day for all of us," Cappie said. Just then, Frannie stepped on the stage in front of them to signal the concert was about to start.

"Well I'm sure you're all excited to see a real big name performer for this year's spring break," Frannie said. "So, without further ado, I'd like to introduce Katy Perry!" The crowd of spring breakers cheered and clapped as the concert began.

A/N: Only a few more chapters until the wedding! :) As always, let me know what you think; anything you expect to happen as the wedding and graduation get closer?

Not sure exactly when the next chapter will be up; it'll be before Christmas though. Got a pretty busy next 3 weeks ahead of me with finishing school.

Hope everyone who celebrates had a good Thanksgiving, and an early Happy Holidays to you all! :)


	17. Letting Go

Episode #17: Letting Go

Setting: About two weeks before the wedding

Synopsis: Cappie and Casey arrive in town for their bachelor and bachelorette parties. Rusty has second thoughts about leaving Cyprus, which causes conflict in his and Ashleigh's relationship.

-GREEK-

"So I just paid my last month of rent at this place," Ashleigh said as she was at her apartment on the phone with Casey.

"Yeah, I can't believe you're leaving at the end of next month, Ash," Casey said.

"Me neither; I wasn't expecting it to be until the end of the summer," Ashleigh said. "But Clarissa's setting me up with a business partner of hers to do some work in London this summer, so I said why the heck not."

"I'm excited for you, Ash," Casey smiled. "I talked to Rusty a little while ago and asked him if you guys had talked, but he didn't say much else about it."

"Ever since I got back after you and me went to the ZBZ convention, he's been acting a bit odd," Ashleigh said. "He's been hanging out with his brothers and friends way more than normal, even considering that they're planning Cappie's bachelor party, and every time I bring up plans for leaving, he avoids the subject."

"I think he's just a little nervous," Casey said. "I wouldn't worry, though. He's definitely more prepared for graduation than I ever was. He'll come around soon, trust me."

-GREEK-

"Cappie's bachelor party is in two days, and I need all hands on deck to get ready for it," Rusty announced to the KT brothers gathered in the living room, along with Beaver and Evan, who were part of the wedding party. "He wants all of us KT brothers to be there and it's up to us to make it a kick ass time."

"I got the strippers, by the way, Spitter," Beaver spoke up.

"I thought I said no strippers," Rusty said. "Casey's gonna kill me if she finds out we have them."

"Please, she's not gonna find out if we don't tell her," Beaver said. "Plus, she'll be having her own party the same night, and you can't tell me there won't be male strippers there."

"Believe it or not, I don't think it's a bad idea," Evan spoke up. "Think of it as the ultimate test of if he's ready to get married. If he puts up resistance to the strippers, he's ready."

"Fine, we'll keep the strippers," Rusty said.

"What else do we need for a bachelor party besides strippers?" Spidey spoke up.

"Beer, obviously," Beaver said. "And food and drinking games. It's just like any other KT party. Except without the girls."

-GREEK-

"Hey Ash," Rusty greeted her with a smile, walking into her apartment.

"Hey there," Ashleigh smiled back.

"Whatcha doing?" Rusty asked, noticing she was looking at something on the computer.

"My dad sent me some info about apartments near Oxford today," Ashleigh said. "He knows someone at work who knows this really good place we can book before we even get there. Come look with me; see what you think."

"Crap, uh, I actually have an emergency at the KT house," Rusty said.

"You just texted me five minutes ago saying you were coming from the KT house," Ashleigh said.

"I literally just got a text from one of the guys as soon as I walked in the building," Rusty said. "Apparently there's some sort of plumbing problem. I keep telling the guys to stop flushing foreign objects down the toilets."

"Oh, well then I guess we can just look later," Ashleigh said. "I am actually supposed to meet with Rebecca to do some stuff for Casey's party in a while."

"Yeah, we'll look later," Rusty said. "I do have to do some more things for Cappie's party, too."

-GREEK-

"So Casey's party should be a lot of fun," Kelsey said to Ashleigh as they were sitting in the ZBZ dining room going over stuff for the upcoming bachelorette party. "Do you think she'll be okay with Rebecca getting the strippers?"

"Casey told us all no strippers, but Rebecca went ahead and got some anyway as a little 'joke'," Ashleigh said. "But it's fine, and anyway I can almost guarantee you there'll be strippers at the guys' party. I bet Beaver's already got some lined up."

"You're probably right," Kelsey laughed.

"Stupid Pan-Hellenic," Rebecca said with a huff, entering the room. "You know how we had to get a permit in order to have Casey's party here, since there'll be alcohol?"

"Yeah, what happened?" Ashleigh asked.

"I couldn't get the permit," Rebecca said. "Because of the no co-ed parties allowed in sorority houses rule."

"You know you didn't have to tell them you got male strippers," Kelsey said.

"I didn't," Rebecca said. "As soon as I said the words 'bachelorette party', the Pan-Hellenic board just assumed it. Anyway, we need a plan B."

"No we don't," Ashleigh said. "Nationals rules supersede this. Nationals allows any ZBZ alum to come back to her chapter and have a bachelorette party or any other wedding-related event."

"So I just have to call Nationals," Rebecca said. "I can do that. And who knows, maybe I can get them to tell me when the scholarship winners will be announced."

"They said at the convention it could be over a month," Ashleigh said. "And that was two weeks ago."

"I know; I just can't stand waiting," Rebecca said.

"Well, then go call them now and then we can go shopping," Ashleigh said. "We've all been so busy planning this party we don't even have anything to wear."

-GREEK-

"So what do you think our friends have in store for us when we get to Cyprus?" Casey asked Cappie as she started putting some things in her suitcase.

"I wouldn't even begin to guess," Cappie said. "But whatever it is it's going to be epic. Although, I do apologize in advance, Case, if any of the guys got strippers for my party."

"In all honesty, I specifically told Rusty not to get strippers for your party," Casey said.

"I think you told the wrong person," Cappie said with a laugh. "It'll probably be Beav or Wade that gets them."

"As long as it's all in good fun," Casey said.

"If there are strippers at my party, I'm still going to be wishing it was you there stripping for me," Cappie smiled teasingly at her.

"Aww, well for you, you know I'd do it anytime," Casey smiled and chuckled. "But for you _and_ sixty other Kappa Taus, not a chance."

"Well there's always after the parties," Cappie smiled, as he was flipping through a stack of mail. "Hey, here's something from your parents."

"Oh," Casey said curiously. "I wonder what they could be sending." Cappie handed her the envelope and she opened it. "Oh, it's an invitation for the graduation party my parents are throwing for Rusty. I already said we'd be there; they could've saved forty five cents."

"Or at least just e-mailed," Cappie said. "But your parents are quite the traditionalists."

"Yes, they are," Casey agreed. "I can't believe his graduation is just a little over a month away. And we get married in a little over two weeks. Everything's happening so fast."

"I'd be ready if we were getting married in two days," Cappie said. "I'd have to run out and get a tux, since I haven't done that yet, but I could do that in two days."

"Believe me, I'd be ready in two days, too," Casey smiled at him. "But although we're ready to get married, I'm not so sure Rusty's ready for graduation yet. I told Ash not to worry, but I don't know; I think I'm getting a little worried myself."

"Why's that?" Cappie asked concerned. "He got into grad school at Oxford and I thought he and Ash were both going there. That's what they said at spring break; I thought everything was okay."

"Lately every time I mention something about graduation he changes the subject," Casey said. "I've asked him about looking for a place, how he's getting there, and if he's actually leaving with Ash or leaving later on in the summer, and anytime I ask something, he just ignores it and asks me about the wedding or something."

"As far as how he's getting there, I guess there's always the option of swimming across the ocean," Cappie laughed. "Case, you can't expect every detail to be planned out just yet. Look at us, leaving CRU with no real plan. Maybe they're just going to go there and then figure things out. Have you talked to Ash about it?"

"Yeah, and that's part of why I'm a little worried too," Casey said. "Ash said he's been doing the same thing to her lately. Like yesterday, she said she was online looking at apartments, and then Rusty came over and she asked him to look with her. But then he said he had an emergency at the KT house and left right away."

"You know I had second thoughts about graduation," Cappie said. "Heck, I had a lot more than second thoughts. It happens to the best of us. If I know Rusty like I know I do, this sounds like just a phase that's going to blow over."

"I hope that's all it is," Casey said. "I just don't want to see things fall apart for him after graduation like they sort of did for me at first."

-GREEK-

"Hey, so I just came from IFC and apparently there's a new rule going into effect next year for all the houses," Spidey said to Rusty, entering the KT house.

"I thought the Greek system was done with restrictions once and for all," Rusty said. "What is it now?"

"It's not so much of a restriction I'd say," Spidey said. "You know how ZBZ has a house mom?" Rusty nodded. "Well the university took a page from ZBZ nationals and they're making all sororities and fraternities on campus have a house parent next year. Apparently some other schools have done this, too. They're actually making it like a graduate assistant position; they want all the houses to hire a recent grad, and they'll get free tuition plus a stipend."

"Well, that actually doesn't sound half bad," Rusty said.

"I don't know; I say if the university has this much money to throw around, they should buy new equipment for the science labs," Spidey said.

"It would be a fun job for whoever gets to do it," Rusty said. "And it's not like some old guy would be living in the house. Heck, I'd even think about doing it."

"What, really?" Spidey asked surprised. "Like staying at CRU? You never mentioned that before."

"Sometimes you start to look at things a little differently when graduation gets this much closer," Rusty said. "I'm just not a hundred percent sure I want to leave CRU yet."

"You know if you decide to stay, you'd have the job here in a heartbeat," Spidey said.

"That's good to know," Rusty said.

-GREEK-

"How's the cake coming?" Rebecca asked, walking into the kitchen where Kelsey and Heather were hard at work making the cake for Casey's party.

"You tell us," Heather said, stepping back so Rebecca could observe the decorating they'd done so far.

"Not bad at all," Rebecca said.

"Hey how come we're doing a lot of work for this party and you're not?" Kelsey asked half jokingly.

"Well you are Casey's grand little sisters," Rebecca said. "I'm her little sister and part of the wedding party. It's just like being president of ZBZ; I'm here for execution purposes."

"Ashleigh and Katherine have been helping out a lot, though," Heather said.

"I know; I was just kidding, maybe," Rebecca laughed. "I do have to go shopping for party food later; although I could use you both to come with."

"As soon as we're done with the cake," Kelsey said. "Did you get a hold of Nationals yet, by the way?"

"Yeah, as Ashleigh said, they're letting us have the party here," Rebecca said.

"What'd you get them to tell you about the scholarship competition?" Heather asked.

"Ugh, nothing," Rebecca said. "I don't see why they have to take so long; everyone who applied had an interview during the convention."

"I don't see why you shouldn't get it," Kelsey said with a smile. "You're a heck of a president and we are the number one chapter in the nation."

"For the second year running," Heather pointed out. "Something no chapter has done in over twenty years."

"What can I say; I'm just that good," Rebecca said.

-GREEK-

"I bet you're really excited for Casey's bachelorette party," Rusty said to Ashleigh when they were in his room. "I know I am for Cappie's, and they both get here tomorrow."

"Yeah, it's gonna be a lot of fun!" Ashleigh said excitedly. "Hey since we've got some time now, what do you say we take a look at some of those apartments?"

"Uh yeah, sure," Rusty said. "I'm just going to run to the bathroom, but go ahead and get on my laptop."

"Okay," Ashleigh said, and grabbed the computer as Rusty walked out of the room. She opened his computer and noticed a few web sites that he must not have closed out of earlier. "Job duties of a Greek house parent?" Ashleigh read the title on one of the pages. "Why's he looking that up?" Rusty came back into the room a moment later and sat down next to her on the bed.

"What's that?" he asked, oblivious to what she was looking at.

"It's the web site you must have left open earlier," Ashleigh said.

"Oh, whatever it is, I thought I closed it out," Rusty said. "What is it?"

"It's talking about the job of being a Greek house parent," Ashleigh said. "I don't like to be one of those nosy girlfriends, but somehow I just have to know, why were you looking that up? Does it have anything to do with the new rule for next year?"

"Kind of," Rusty said. "You know, it's most likely going to be someone graduating this year who gets the job here at KT, so I just thought I'd look up a few things to pass along to the guys."

"So it's not like you were thinking of going for the job or something?" Ashleigh asked, and Rusty was silent for a minute. "Were you?"

"Ash, I can't lie to you," Rusty sighed. "Over the past few weeks, I've just been having second thoughts about leaving CRU right away after graduation."

"Oh," was all Ashleigh could say.

"It's nothing about you, believe me," Rusty said. "I love you, you know that, and I want to be with you. I remember giving Casey and Cappie this advice about growing up and graduating, and really I should be taking that myself and shouldn't be thinking like this."

"I thought you wanted to go to Oxford," Ashleigh said.

"I do, but at the same time you know I also got accepted here at CRU," Rusty said. "We could always stay here another year."

"Rusty, you know I can't do that," Ashleigh said. "And even if I could, what happens this time next year, are you going to want to stay another year? I've loved it here at CRU, and I know you have too. But it's just like Cappie and Casey; it's our time now to learn how to live our lives outside of CRU."

"But think about everything we might miss here if we live so far away," Rusty said. "Like KT and ZBZ alumni events. Or what if something else happens, like Casey gets pregnant?"

"Case and Cap don't want to have kids for at least a few years and they told us that," Ashleigh said. "And I've learned to live with being away from ZBZ, and I thought you were ready to learn to live away from KT. What's really got you thinking about all of this?"

"I just thought that we could have the same opportunities here as anywhere else," Rusty said. "I can still work for Chambers International here and go to grad school, and you have Clarissa's firm, and plus all our friends are here."

"I can't stay here," Ashleigh said. "I'm leaving the first of June and not coming back until Christmas. Yes, it's going to be terrifying when it actually happens, but I have to do it. I thought we were in this together; we've talked about it all year."

"Believe me, I still want to make this work, you and me I mean, with whatever happens," Rusty said. "We're both mature enough now to make a long distance relationship work; we can Skype all the time."

"So you're saying you'd rather stay here with your KT brothers and Skype me, instead of going with me and Skyping them?" Ashleigh asked, getting a little annoyed now. "That's what you want our relationship to turn into? You've got the perfect opportunity to leave with me, and you're basically telling me now you don't want to."

"I don't mean I don't want to, Ash…," Rusty began.

"I think I should go back to my place tonight," Ashleigh interrupted. "You sound like you really need to think about things. When you do know what you want, then tell me."

-GREEK-

"Ash?" Casey asked, walking into her apartment the next day after knocking on the door.

"Hey, Case," Ashleigh greeted, giving her a halfhearted smile as she walked out of her bathroom.

"Are you okay, Ash?" Casey asked concerned, noticing something seemed up with her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ashleigh said, faking a smile again and giving Casey a hug.

"Are you sure?" Casey asked. "I know you better than that; what happened?"

"I got into this fight with Rusty last night; he started talking like he doesn't want to leave CRU," Ashleigh said. "Well it wasn't really a fight as much as a disagreement. He just wasn't making any sense and wasn't acting like himself, but I still don't know what to make of it. Anyway, today's not the day to deal with my problems; today's about you and your party."

"Today may be my party but you know I'm here to talk as long as you want," Casey said sympathetically. "I've been a bit worried about Rusty myself."

"No, really, I don't want to talk about it right now," Ashleigh said. "Let's just go get Rebecca and Katherine and go to lunch, and make this a great day and night for you, because you deserve it."

-GREEK-

"Well this wouldn't be a bachelor party without wrangling some free drinks at Dobler's," Beaver said as the guys were gathered at Dobler's before they went to the KT house.

"I think it's time to make things interesting here," Wade spoke up. "It's time we challenge the groom-to-be."

"This is the time I was dreading," Cappie said jokingly. "You're going to make me do all this stuff Casey's going to kick my ass for."

"Believe me, I'm doing everything in my power to make sure my sister doesn't find out what happens tonight," Rusty said. "Only because I know it's all harmless fun."

"Okay, you see that girl over there?" Beaver asked Cappie, pointing to a girl sitting across the bar. Cappie nodded. "Go up to her and ask her for a tampon."

"A tampon?" Cappie laughed. "What do I need one of those for?"

"Well obviously you don't _need_ one," Evan spoke up. "But it'll be hilarious for all of us to watch this."

"Do it!" some of the KT brothers said.

"Okay!" Cappie laughed and walked over to the girl. The guys watched and a moment later, they saw the girl hit Cappie with her purse and walk away. They all burst out laughing.

"She thought I was trying to get in her pants," Cappie said when he came back to the guys.

"For asking for a tampon?" Beaver asked. "Go ask that other girl." Cappie went over to another girl Beaver pointed to, and this time he came back a moment later, tampon in hand. The guys cheered.

"Now you have to keep it, and give it to Casey tomorrow," Beaver said. "Just go up to her, tell her you got her a present and she'll get all excited, then give her the tampon."

"I can't give it to her," Cappie said. "Then she'll want to know what I did to get it."

"Say you found it around the KT house," Wade said. "You know that has happened before."

"Yeah, and it's always creepy when it does," Cappie laughed. "Condoms lying around is one thing, but tampons?"

"I've got a good challenge," Calvin spoke up. "I'll get the bartenders to put the Thriller on, and Cap has to get in the middle of the bar and dance to it."

"Yeah, let's see it!" many of the guys cheered as a few of them started pushing Cappie away from the table to dance.

-GREEK-

"Are you okay?" Kelsey asked Ashleigh, finding her in the ZBZ bathroom as the girls' party was getting underway. "Casey's really worried, but I told her to stay downstairs and I'd come talk to you. Did you talk to Rusty?"

"No, he hasn't called me all day," Ashleigh said. "And that's what worries me. I don't know; maybe I should have been a bit more understanding of how he was feeling last night, but I have my own life to think about, and I just don't know what to do if he doesn't want to leave."

"I'm sure he's just scared," Kelsey said. "You know how much he loves KT and all those guys; and now you guys will be going to this whole new place knowing almost nobody. Why don't you call him? Maybe he's thinking about things too, and it'll help you enjoy tonight more getting this off your mind."

"I might as well," Ashleigh said. "Maybe the guys' party isn't too underway yet."

"I'll leave you to it then," Kelsey said. "Just come down when you're ready." She left the bathroom and Ashleigh got out her phone and dialed Rusty.

"Hello," Rusty answered, and Ashleigh could hear loud noise in the background.

"Can we talk a minute?" Ashleigh asked.

"Sorry, can't talk now; my turn at beer pong!" Rusty replied, and Ashleigh could tell then that he already sounded drunk.

"You're drunk already?" Ashleigh asked. He didn't answer. "Hello?" Ashleigh then pulled her phone away from her ear and looked at it. "He hung up; what the hell!"

-GREEK-

"Isn't this party off the hook!" Rusty said, plopping down on the KT couch next to Calvin and Dale, as everyone had returned from Dobler's and Cappie's party was continuing at the house.

"You might want to give me that," Dale said, grabbing the beer Rusty was holding. "It's only 9 PM and you've already had a few too many, my friend."

"Oh come on, what's the harm in a little fun?" Rusty asked.

"I know it's Cappie's bachelor party, but what's got you on alcohol overload tonight?" Calvin asked.

"I'm just living life for the fun of it while I still can!" Rusty said. "Not thinking about graduation, or what's going to happen next year; none of that! Tonight it's all about fun and giving Cap an awesome last party before his and Case's wedding!"

-GREEK-

"Okay, I'll ask the next question," Katherine announced as Casey, her bridesmaids, and a few other ZBZ sisters were gathered in a circle in the ZBZ kitchen. "You have to tell us; what's the sweetest thing Cappie's ever done for you?"

"Oh gosh," Casey said with a grin. "Do I have to pick just one?"

"No, but you have to tell us all of them," Katherine said.

"Well there was Valentine's Day senior year," Casey began. "His gift to me was taking me to this Quickie Mart we used to go to freshman year, and he told me that's the first time he realized he loved me."

"Awww!" some of the sisters said together.

"And then there was our anniversary just last fall," Casey said. "He got in touch with a friend of his dad's who's moving out of his house near D.C. in a few years, and he said the house is going to be ours once his dad's friend moves out."

"He got you guys a house?" one of the sisters spoke up. "That's just about the best anniversary present I've ever heard of."

"Okay, maid of honor, your turn to ask something," Katherine said to Ashleigh.

"Okay," Ashleigh began and turned to Casey. "What really made Cappie realize that graduating and going with you was the best decision for him?"

"Well, you know how I spent most of the time we were together senior year convincing him to graduate, but he just said he wasn't ready," Casey said. "In all honesty, I think he just had to realize it on his own." She stopped talking and everyone was silent for a moment. "I really have to use the bathroom; then how about we get the others and have cake? Ash, come with me." Casey and Ashleigh got up and headed toward the bathroom.

"Ash, please tell me what's going on," Casey said to her once they walked in the bathroom. "I know it's my party, but I hate seeing my best friend and maid of honor not having a good time."

"I am having a good time, really," Ashleigh said.

"I was going to try to talk to Rusty today, but I haven't been able to reach him all day," Casey said.

"I called him just before the party started," Ashleigh said. "It was obvious the guys' party had already started. If you really want to know, it sounded like he was drinking his ass off and didn't care the least about talking to me."

"Seriously," Casey said. "I should go over there and find out what's going on, right now. He's never treated you like this, and he may be going through some things with graduation, but that's no excuse to start treating you like this now."

"No Case, I need to handle this on my own," Ashleigh said. Before either of them could say anything else, Rebecca walked in the bathroom.

"Guess what; our special guests are here now," Rebecca said.

"Please tell me you didn't get strippers," Casey sighed.

"But then I'd be lying!" Rebecca said, and then proceeded to drag Casey and Ashleigh back downstairs.

-GREEK-

"Spitter, there you are," Cappie said, finding Rusty in a corner of the KT house, and then noticing he was unconscious with empty cups of beer surrounding him. Cappie tried to shake him awake but he was still unresponsive.

"Cap, is he okay?" Spidey asked, approaching them.

"Well he is breathing," Cappie said. "Out of everyone I would have expected to be passed out drunk at my party, Rusty wasn't one of them." Calvin and Dale came over a moment later.

"Wow, what did you guys do, taser him?" Calvin asked jokingly. "I know bachelor parties are about getting drunk, but you're not even that drunk yet, Cap."

"Whenever Spitter gets this drunk, there's always a reason behind it," Cappie said.

"Usually involving a girl," Dale spoke up.

"Come to think of it," Calvin began. "The times I remember this happening to him were soon after he broke up with Jen K, Jordan, and Dana."

"You don't think something bad happened with him and Ashleigh?" Spidey asked surprised.

"I hope not," Calvin said. "But I'm really worried now."

-GREEK-

"Morning, Case," Cappie greeted her with a smile when she arrived at the KT house the next morning. "How was your night?"

"It was quite eventful," Casey laughed, walking over to him and kissing him. "But I had a really great time. I had my fair share of lemon drops, I'll say that. So do I want to know what happened at your party?"

"Probably not," Cappie laughed. "It was, as you put it, eventful too. I did get you something, though."

"Aw, what's that?" Casey asked.

"This," Cappie said, and pulled the tampon out of his pocket.

"I'm not even gonna ask where this came from," Casey said.

"Beaver made me do it," Cappie said.

"It figures," Casey said.

"As the guys said, it was all harmless fun," Cappie said. "Now, I'm officially all yours."

"You better be," Casey chuckled. "Hey do you know if Rusty's up yet? I still need to talk to him."

"I was just upstairs a few minutes ago and he wasn't," Cappie said. "He had a lot to drink last night; I'll just leave it at that for now."

"I didn't think it would be easy for him to leave CRU; I know it wasn't for me," Casey began. "But I didn't expect him to get this torn up and then get Ash upset. And I remember he was the one who gave me the advice about growing up and leaving before I graduated."

"Sometimes it's easier to give someone else advice than take it yourself," Cappie said. "I know he's going to be fine, and I know exactly what it's going to take for him to be okay with leaving, because it was the same thing for me."

"What's that?" Casey asked.

"He's going to want to know that everything will be okay here after he leaves," Cappie said. "I couldn't leave KT not knowing it was going to be okay. He's going to be the same way."

-GREEK-

"Calvin, hey," Ashleigh said, surprised to see him stop by the ZBZ house that morning.

"Hey, how was the bachelorette party?" Calvin asked.

"It was great," Ashleigh said. "Honestly, it took me a while to get into, but I realized how much I needed just a night with the girls. What about Cap's party? Anything, well, out of the ordinary happen?"

"Something's going on with you and Rusty," Calvin said. "I can read you both like a book and he was acting a bit off at the party. What happened?"

"I don't think he wants to leave CRU," Ashleigh said. "Lately he's been reminding me of, well…"

"Cappie?" Calvin suggested. "How he felt about graduation?"

"Honestly, yeah," Ashleigh sighed. "It's just like Casey and Cappie; I can't make Rusty want to leave. He has to want to on his own, but I just don't know what's going to happen if he really doesn't want to leave."

"He wants to be with you more than anything in the world, you know that, right?" Calvin asked.

"Really?" Ashleigh asked.

"Yeah; like I said, I can read you both like a book," Calvin said. "I'll tell you what's going on. We're talking about a guy who didn't have a great time in high school, and then he came here and now basically has it all. I'm sure it's not easy to think about having to give it all up and start over again. But for you, he's going to do it. Trust me on this."

"Thanks, you know it feels better hearing that from you," Ashleigh said with a smile. "Hopefully we'll talk later."

"Later is probably better; I just checked on him before I came over here and he wasn't up yet," Calvin said. "Want to grab some breakfast now?"

"Sure, let's go," Ashleigh said.

-GREEK-

"Oh my God, where am I?" Rusty asked, waking up extremely hungover. "Wait, this is my bed, but I don't remember falling asleep in it."

"Hey, you're up," Spidey said, walking into the room. "Water?" Rusty immediately sat up, grabbed the bottle of water from him, and chugged half of it.

"Do you know how I got here?" Rusty asked.

"Cappie and me had to help you get up here last night," Spidey said. "We've all seen you drunk before, but not like that. What happened? Did you and Ashleigh get in a fight?"

"Oh shit," Rusty said suddenly and put a hand to his head. "Everything's coming back now; I'm such an idiot."

"I'm sure you're not," Spidey said. "Wanna talk about it?"

"You know how the other day you were telling me about the house parent thing?" Rusty asked.

"Yeah," Spidey said.

"I really started to consider staying here next year and taking the job," Rusty said.

"And you told her you might want to stay at CRU and she got upset?" Spidey asked.

"That's the short version of how things happened," Rusty sighed and lied back down on his bed.

"You shouldn't take the house father job here," Spidey said after a minute. "When you first mentioned it I thought yeah, it would be awesome if you stayed at CRU next year. But there's more to it than that. You've got a girl who's perfect for you, and I know you'd regret it if you let that all go for what, to hang around here? You know it's not the right decision. I'm sure you've read Peter Pan. All children grow up. There's so much better out there for you now."

"That's exactly what I told Case and Cap before," Rusty said. "I guess it is easier to give advice than take it. KT's just been everything, you know; it's made my time in college what it was. You'll understand when you're a senior."

"I'm sure I will, and when that time comes, I hope I'll have someone to tell me what I'm going to tell you," Spidey said. "We're going to be fine here. Over the past two years, you've taught me just about everything there is to know about this place and what it takes to be a good leader. And I'm ready, I can handle it now."

"Are you sure?" Rusty asked.

"Positive; I've never been more sure," Spidey said. "The last thing I want to do is let you and this place down. When you come home for Christmas, KT will be just like you never left. You have to leave, both for yourself and for Ashleigh. It's what's best for you. Cappie, Casey, me, and everyone else can video chat you guys whenever. But if you two ended up on different sides of the world, neither of you would be happy."

"Yeah, you're right about that," Rusty said with a sigh. "I can't believe I told Ash I didn't want to leave. After I'd been thinking about proposing, and…" He stopped suddenly.

"Wait, proposing?" Spidey asked surprised.

"You didn't hear that," Rusty said suddenly.

"I think I did," Spidey said. "I won't say anything, but that's great! Another CRU wedding in the making."

"I haven't even asked her yet, and I'm not even sure if I should anytime soon," Rusty said.

"I for one think it would be awesome if you guys got married," Spidey said.

-GREEK-

"Case," Rusty greeted her a little later as he walked out of the KT house and saw her walking up the path.

"Well hey," Casey greeted. "I was just coming over to find you."

"Have you seen Ash this morning?" Rusty asked. "I really need to talk to her.

"She and Calvin were going to the coffee shop," Casey said. "She tried to call you last night be apparently you were already a little busy here."

"When?" Rusty asked confused. "I don't remember her calling me."

"You were already drunk," Casey said.

"Shit," Rusty said with a sigh. "What did I do, hang up on her or something? I did not mean to do that."

"Yeah, that's what you did," Casey said. "But really, what's going on with you?"

"I shouldn't be going through this; I was the one who told you and Cap that all children grow up," Rusty said. "But I couldn't help it. I guess I just freaked out. Lately when Ash would mention something about graduation or leaving I'd make up some excuse to avoid it. And then basically telling her the other day that I didn't want to leave; well, I made a huge mistake."

"You know you look at things differently when they're happening to you," Casey said. "When you gave me that advice, it wasn't happening to you, and now it is. It sounds like it's hitting you like it did me, but let me tell you, you're ready. You're definitely more ready to graduate than I ever was. I'm guessing this is mostly about not wanting to leave the house?"

"Yeah, I even thought about taking the house father job," Rusty said.

"No; I will seriously beat you if you do that," Casey said. "The truth is you're always going to have KT to come back to, and I think you know that. And those that are really your friends are going to make an effort to keep in touch. I've learned that with ZBZ, and I also learned that you can't worry about what'll happen to the house after you're gone. You have to put your trust in others to carry it on. I've told Rebecca the same thing."

"I'm pretty well convinced now that everything's going to be alright at KT," Rusty said.

"So does that mean you don't need to stay here and be their 'father'?" Ashleigh spoke up, walking up behind them.

"I'll let you two talk," Casey said. "Cap's over at Beaver and Katherine's; I'm meeting them back there. You can meet us there if you want." She gave a smile and walked away down Greek Row.

"I'm so sorry, Ash," Rusty said to Ashleigh after Casey left, as they began walking toward the KT front porch. "Especially for last night. Casey told me you called and I hung up; I was drunk and I didn't mean to do that. Now you're probably even more mad at me…"

"I'm not mad at you," Ashleigh interrupted. "As far as last night; I'm not worried about that. It was Cappie's party. I was upset that you thought about staying here to be the house father of Kappa Tau, though, I'm not going to lie. Were you really serious when you said that stuff the other day?"

"I really was not thinking when I said all of that," Rusty said. "I didn't mean it when I said I didn't want to leave with you, because I do, and that's exactly what I'm going to do."

"But, I do want you to be sure you want to leave," Ashleigh said. "I don't want to be the one to make you do it."

"I am absolutely sure," Rusty said with a smile, wrapping his arms around her waist. "You mean the world to me, Ash, and if I passed up the chance to have a future with you, then I'd never forgive myself. I love you so much and I don't know what I was thinking when I pretty much said I wouldn't mind being on opposite sides of the world from you. Because really, I wouldn't like it at all."

"I wouldn't either," Ashleigh said, smiling and wrapping her arms around his neck. "I love you too, and I know how much CRU and KT mean to you. I'm going to be there with you every step of the way. We'll get through this together."

"I know for a fact we will," Rusty smiled and kissed her.

A/N: Hey everyone; so it's been a little while, eh! So sorry that this is so late; much later than I expected to have it done by! I've been trying to get it finished for two weeks now but first I was sick, and since then life's been one thing after another happening.

I had to get this done and out now though so y'all didn't think I forgot about it! :) Next chapter will be the wedding, yay! It may be a while for the next chapter again, as January's looking to be another busy month, but I do promise to finish this story even if it takes me longer than I thought. Stay tuned!

Lastly, I hope you all had a happy holiday season, and Happy New Year! :)


	18. Nothing Like You and I

Episode #18: Nothing Like You and I

Setting: Wedding weekend, about 3 weeks before graduation

Synopsis: Everyone gathers back in Cyprus for the long awaited wedding of Cappie and Casey.

-GREEK-

"Remind me why I told my entire extended family _and_ Cappie's that they could stay here," Rusty said with a sigh as he saw Ashleigh walk in the KT house.

"Because you're a good person," Ashleigh said with a smile. "I ran into your parents on the way over here. They're taking Case and Cap to lunch with Cappie's parents, too. If you ask me that sounds like a lecture waiting to happen."

"Yeah, Dad said she and Mom wanted to have a 'pre-wedding chat' with them and they brought Cappie's parents in on it too," Rusty said.

"Spitter!" someone called and Rusty turned around to see two pledges walking toward him. "We were _trying_ to fix up the bathroom and then some old lady who looks like, ninety thousand years old, comes in and starts hitting us with her walking cane.

"And then she said, 'get out of here, you hooligans'," Pledge Curly said.

"That must be my Great Aunt Glenda," Rusty sighed. "She's not nice, at all. Pretty much no one in my family likes her."

"How was she even invited to the wedding then?" Pledge Moe asked.

"Truth is it's because my parents are doing everything to make sure they get her beach house when she dies," Rusty said.

"Are you sure there's enough room here for everyone to sleep?" Ashleigh asked Rusty, taking a look at the number of relatives that were in the house. "I didn't think you had this many extra rooms."

"We don't," Rusty said. "I still haven't figured out where everyone's going to sleep. And we've got way more people here than my parents told me were coming." Just then they saw most of the KT brothers making their way downstairs and heading for the front door.

"What's going on?" Rusty asked the guys.

"I'm getting everyone out of here for the day," Spidey said. "So yours and Cappie's families can hang out. We're having a kickball tournament at the park between us, Omega Chi, and Lambda Sig."

"Thanks; that's a big help," Rusty said. "By then maybe I'll find places for everyone to sleep tonight."

"You know I could throw together a campout in the backyard for all of us," Spidey said. "Better us sleep outside than all of yours and Cap's relatives, right?"

"We're sleeping outside tonight?" a brother asked, overhearing the conversation. "Just let the old people sleep in the spare rooms and the kids can sleep on the floor."

"There still won't be enough space," Spidey said. "Besides, some of you end up sleeping outside anyway after parties."

"Why don't we just have a party then?" Dump Truck suggested. "And just make the pledges keep the kids and old people inside."

"Or we could just have a party where we can have fun right along with them," Spidey said.

"Mingling with kids and old people isn't a party; that's philanthropy," Dump Truck said.

"Well until after the wedding, that's what it'll have to be," Rusty said. "I'd just like to make it out of this weekend without any unfortunate incidents."

"I've got your back on this," Spidey said. "It's going to be a great wedding weekend for Cappie and Casey, and everyone who's staying here is going to be happy."

-GREEK-

"I'm kind of glad that's over with," Casey said with a laugh to Cappie after they finished lunch with both sets of parents.

"I'll admit myself I wasn't sure what to expect when your dad wanted us all to go out to lunch," Cappie laughed. "When he asked us yesterday he sounded serious, like he was going to give me this big long lecture. But I seriously thought he was going to cry there for a minute at lunch."

"And I thought your mom was going to cry when she was talking about how it's not easy for parents to see their children get married," Casey said.

"As my mom said it's the best and worst thing to ever happen to her," Cappie said. "It's like they think we're eloping and moving to the moon. I don't get it."

"I guess it's something we'll understand someday," Casey said. "When we have a kid of our own getting married."

"No, we're never going to let our kid get that old, so that'll never happen," Cappie said, and then stopped for a second. "Did I really just say that?"

"That was a total dad comment right there," Casey said with a laugh. "But I'm right there with you, right now mostly because I'm not letting myself get old enough to have a kid who's getting married."

"Someday I guess it's going to happen, though," Cappie said.

"Yeah, I guess it will," Casey said, smiling at him. "You're going to be a great husband and father; I hope you know that."

"And you're going to be a great wife and mother," Cappie said, smiling at her and kissing her. "I hope you know that."

-GREEK-

"Bex, we're all ready over here," Ashleigh said to Rebecca over the phone. "Where's Casey?"

"We're at the church," Rebecca said with a sigh. "And she's obsessing again."

"Tell her to stop it and get back over to ZBZ," Ashleigh said. "There are a ton of overly peppy relatives who just want her to open her presents already."

"Don't worry; I'm pretty sure I can get her to leave," Rebecca said. "We'll be there soon." Rebecca hung up the phone and went to find Casey, who was in the front of the church talking to the pastor who would be marrying her and Cappie the next day."

"Case, come on let's go," Rebecca walked up to her and said, and then tried to grab her and drag her out.

"Rebecca, where's the fire?" Casey asked, pulling away from Rebecca's grasp. "Just give me a minute."

"You said that five minutes ago," Rebecca said. "And I just got a call from Ash; she said they just delivered the flowers for the wedding to the ZBZ house."

"Wait, what?" Casey asked. "First of all, since when did that flower shop deliver? And second of all, why the heck are they delivering them today and not tomorrow? They'll be no good by tomorrow." She turned to the pastor. "I'm sorry, Pastor Dan, but I should probably go check on this."

"No worries, Casey," Pastor Dan said. "Anything else you need; you know I'll be at the rehearsal dinner tonight." They said goodbye and Rebecca continued to drag Casey out of the church.

"So why exactly were you talking to the pastor for over a half hour?" Rebecca asked.

"I just want to make sure he knows what to do," Casey said. "I'm starting to question why we decided to go with a pastor that Dale suggested. If only my family's pastor hadn't planned a missions trip to Africa right at the time of my wedding."

"I think the guy's done plenty of weddings," Rebecca said. "Now come on, let's go." They arrived back at ZBZ a few minutes later. They saw Ashleigh open the door and step outside before they could enter.

"Ash, what's going on with the flowers?" Casey asked.

"Oh yeah, they're here in the living room," Ashleigh said and motioned for Casey and Rebecca to follow her inside. Instead of seeing a bunch of flowers in the living room, Casey saw most of the ZBZ sisters, her friends, and her female relatives gathered around.

"Surprise!" they all shouted.

"What is all of this?" Casey asked with a smile.

"I've been trying to plan you a shower ever since you got engaged, but your mom suggested we have it right before the wedding so your family could be here," Ashleigh said. "Come open your presents; everyone's dying to see them!"

-GREEK-

"Beav, I don't know how you got my little cousins to calm down, but thanks," Rusty said as he sat down with Beaver and Cappie in the KT living room.

"What can I say; I'm a natural with kids," Beaver said.

"I know their moms are all at Case's shower, but where'd their dads go?" Cappie asked.

"My uncles all wanted to go out for drinks and they sort of just left the kids here with me," Rusty said. "Not that I really mind; I've babysat them before but sometimes they can all be a bit much."

"At least they're napping now," Cappie said. Just then the doorbell rang.

"Pizza's here!" Beaver said as he went to answer the door.

"I can't believe the big day's tomorrow," Rusty said excitedly to Cappie as Beaver went to answer the door.

"That's right, and I hope you're ready for me to be part of the family now," Cappie said with a laugh.

"I am; I'm so excited for you guys," Rusty said. "I knew all along that somehow you'd make things work; why do you think I pushed you so much after you and Case broke up two years ago?"

"Now I can say I'm glad you did push us," Cappie said.

"How did you know, though, that it was the right time to propose to her?" Rusty asked suddenly.

"I don't know; it's kind of hard to explain," Cappie said. "It's just something you know when the time's right. Before I met Casey, I don't think I ever thought seriously about getting married. But being with her made me realize that I don't want to be with anyone else. And after we stayed together for over a year in the real world, I knew it was time."

"I'm just not sure I want to wait that long," Rusty said.

"Wait, you're talking about yourself here?" Cappie asked confused. "Wait that long for what? Hold up, are you thinking about asking…"

"Yeah, I'm thinking about proposing to Ash," Rusty interrupted.

"Hey now, I knew this moment would happen," Cappie said happily. "You know Case and I were just talking about you guys not too long ago."

"What do you mean by that?" Rusty asked confused.

"She thought it might be a while before you actually popped the question," Cappie said. "But I said that probably one day after you guys left Cyprus, we'd get a phone call saying you ran off somewhere and eloped."

"We wouldn't do that," Rusty said with a laugh. "I really couldn't imagine not having a wedding here. Well not _here_ as in the KT house, but here in Cyprus. But Case doesn't think I'd do it; that's what she said?"

"In so many words, yeah," Cappie laughed. "She said you're probably focused on grad school right now and wouldn't think about getting married right away."

"Can you not tell her I'm thinking about it," Rusty said. "I want to surprise her when it actually happens. Not that I know when that's going to be yet."

"Believe me, she'll be surprised," Cappie said. "As for when to pop the question; like I said you'll know when the time's right. But take it from me, I think you should do it."

"You think Spitter should do what?" Beaver asked, re-entering the room with pizza and beers in hand.

"Should eat pizza and drink beer with us," Cappie covered quickly.

"Isn't that what we were going to do anyway?" Beaver asked confused.

"Uh, yeah, so let's do it!" Cappie said as they dug into the pizza and opened their beers.

-GREEK-

"Thank you guys, so much," Casey said to her friends and family as her bridal shower was finishing up. "This really means a lot."

"Before everyone leaves, we still have one more gift to give," Katherine spoke up, stopping the movement around the room.

"You guys have already done so much," Casey said.

"Believe me; I know you're going to like this," Rebecca said.

"The three of us all helped pick it out," Ashleigh said and handed Casey a wrapped box.

"Oh my gosh!" Casey burst out laughing when she opened the box and saw what was inside. The guests started laughing as well when they saw what it was. Casey turned to her bridesmaids. "You guys seriously got me lingerie." In Casey's box were in fact different pieces of lingerie.

"Surprise!" Ashleigh said, laughing too.

"You know I should have expected this to happen," Casey said to her bridesmaids, as everyone now began getting up and moving around the room.

"What's a bridal shower without at least one good gag gift," Rebecca said. "It beats some of the boring crap that you're never going to use and just throw away in five years."

"Hey, I like all my presents," Casey said. "This one will be used though!"

"Okay, we didn't need to hear that out loud!" Rebecca said.

"I said we should get you something better," Katherine spoke up. "But they talked me into the lingerie idea and I have to admit your reaction was hilarious."

"Yeah, it really was," Ashleigh said, and then the doorbell rang. One of the ZBZ sisters went to answer it

"I guess it's safe in here now," Cappie's voice said, and Casey saw him enter the living room. "What's in that box?"

"Oh, nothing; you'll see later," Casey said with a sly smile. "I didn't know you were stopping over here; I thought I was just meeting you back at KT."

"I called him to do the manly thing and carry all this stuff to the car," Ashleigh said.

"I see how it is; the groom is never invited to these things but then he's called when it's all over to do all the work," Cappie said jokingly. "And you don't even have any leftovers; darn!"

-GREEK-

"I think Case seemed more relaxed about things tonight," Ashleigh said to Rusty as they were walking back to the KT house after the wedding rehearsal that evening.

"Yeah, and I'm glad," Rusty said. "If something's important to her, she'll obsess over it; like how she was with ZBZ and then trying to find a career. This wedding; that's more important to her than both of those things."

"You're right about that," Ashleigh said. "She's going to love it though; I know it." They arrived back at the KT house and saw there was a party in full swing, filled with KTs enjoying themselves as always, older relatives having drinks and dancing, many of them rather wildly, and some of the kids were running around playing together.

"Now this is a party like no other," Ashleigh observed the scene with a laugh. "It looks like a family reunion gone wild."

"Man, I was afraid this would happen," Rusty sighed. "If this keeps going half of mine and Cappie's families are going to be going to the wedding hungover."

"Think we should get some of them back inside?" Ashleigh asked.

"Hey Spitter; your great aunt's over there and she looks like she's gonna start stripping," Pledge Barney said, laughing as he approached Rusty and Ashleigh with some more pledge brothers.

"I'll take care of her; you guys just start getting everyone back inside and upstairs," Rusty said to the pledges. "And get the kids inside; they don't need to be around everyone who's drinking."

"Hey guys," Kelsey said as she and Spidey walked up to Rusty and Ashleigh. "We just took some really drunk people upstairs. Rusty, I think they might have been some of your cousins, or maybe Cappie's."

"We just got back from the rehearsal not long before you," Spidey said. "We weren't even there that long and things here took a turn for the wild side in the time we were gone."

"It's fine; let's just bring things down a bit before Case, Cap, and our parents get back," Rusty said.

-GREEK-

"You coming back to KT first before you go to ZBZ for the night?" Cappie asked Casey as they were the last ones to leave the rehearsal, heading back toward Greek Row.

"I think I'll just go to ZBZ," Casey said. "I'm so tired right now; it probably won't be much of a sleepover."

"Please, don't worry about a thing," Cappie said to her. "I'm sure that's why you're tired."

"Oh I know that's why I'm tired," Casey chuckled. "I just can't help myself; you know how I get about things that are super important. I love you so much, and this is our wedding, a day we'll remember for the rest of our lives. I want it to be worth remembering."

"Case, it will be, but it won't be because of flowers, or the pastor saying the right things, or wedding favors, or any of that stuff," Cappie said, stopping and facing her as they arrived on the porch of the ZBZ house. "It'll be because it's me and you; that's all there is to it. Every day spent with you is unforgettable; you're unforgettable. Thirty years from now, it's not going to matter if one little minor detail didn't go as planned; what will matter is that we'll still be together after all that time, and what we'll remember about our wedding is that was the day we swore to spend the rest of our lives together."

"This is the reason I want to be with you for the rest of my life," Casey smiled at him. "How do you always know the right thing to say to me?"

"I'm just that good," Cappie smiled and kissed her.

-GREEK-

"Bex, wake up," Ashleigh said to Rebecca the next morning, shaking her awake. "We've got to get ready to go to the salon and get our hair did."

"Oh hey, you guys are up," Casey said with a smile, entering Rebecca's room looking like she'd just taken a shower. "I was just going to wake you."

"I can't believe today's finally here," Ashleigh smiled. "And I couldn't be happier for you."

"Thanks, Ash," Casey said, giving her a hug. "You know it was great sleeping over here last night, one last time."

"Yeah it was," Ashleigh said. "After Bex graduates, we can't just come back and crash in our old room again."

"Well you could, but it might be kind of weird for whoever's living here next year," Rebecca said.

"It's going to be weird when we don't have close friends here anymore," Casey said. "To the sisters who are still here, we'll just be old people like the rest of the alumni who come back for events."

"And then they'll just start hitting you up for money," Rebecca said.

"Start?" Casey asked. "You tried that on us already at the last alumni event."

"Yeah, even to me, and I come over here at least every week or two," Ashleigh said.

"I was just kidding more or less," Rebecca said. "But seriously, next year the sisters will hit you up for money."

"I'm gonna head downstairs when you guys shower," Casey said. "Katherine's in the shower now too, so I'm ready when you guys are."

"Okay; we'll be quick," Ashleigh said and Casey went downstairs to the kitchen.

"Hey there; ready for your big day?" Kelsey greeted with a smile as Casey walked into the kitchen.

"Hey, you're still picking up the flowers and the cake, right?" Casey asked quickly.

"Well good morning to you, too," Kelsey said jokingly. "Yes, I'm getting the flowers and the cake. Don't worry."

"Sorry," Casey laughed. "I'm more than ready for today; I'm just thinking about the million and one things that need to be done in the next six hours."

"Everything's going to be fine," Kelsey said. "You know you've got an awesome maid of honor and wedding party who are going to make sure everything's just as perfect as it can be. And you're my grand big sis and I'm here for you, too. Anything you need, just call me; I'll be on standby all day until the wedding."

"Thanks so much," Casey smiled. "I'm heading over to the salon as soon as Ash, Bex, and Katherine are ready; but take my car when you go."

-GREEK-

"It's like this place turned into a bed and breakfast," Beaver said as he, Cappie, and Rusty walked downstairs in the KT house and saw some of the pledges making breakfast for the wedding guests.

"Oh Cappie, I can't believe it's your big day," a lady who looked to be one of Cappie's aunts said upon seeing him, and then pulled him over to some of his other relatives.

"Geez, I haven't seen a line for the bathroom this long here even during a party," Anthony Hopkins said, approaching Beaver and Rusty.

"Yeah, we had to go across the street to the Tri Pi house just to pee," Pledge Barf said.

"Well, we didn't _have_ to," Pledge Larry said. "But that gave us an excuse to go over there."

"Well now that you're back," Rusty began. "I need all the pledges to help everyone get ready. Just go upstairs and if anyone needs anything, get it for them."

"Okay, but I'm not washing anyone else's hair," Pledge Larry said, and Rusty looked at him confused. "Cappie's grandmother made me wash her hair last night, and it was a rather unpleasant experience."

"Brothers, everyone gather round," Rusty announced to the KT brothers, most of who were in the living room. "Now as brothers, we all know when one of us is celebrating, we're all celebrating. Today's Cappie's wedding, so it's up to all of us to be there and help make it great. Who's with me?"

"Yeah!" the brothers said as Cappie came back into the living room.

"Ready for your death sentence, Cap?" one of the brothers asked him jokingly.

"I once thought marriage was a death sentence too," Cappie said. "But sooner or later you won't think that. But Spitter's right, and it wouldn't be my wedding without my KT brothers right there with me."

-GREEK-

"Hey, I thought you were coming back before the wedding," Spidey said as he walked in the church and saw Kelsey arranging some flowers by the altar.

"I was," Kelsey said. "But then Ash called and said the decorator was sick and they couldn't find another one, so I've spent the past three hours decorating this place myself. What do you think?"

"It looks great; they're going to love it," Spidey said with a smile. "You could have called me though; I would have helped."

"I didn't exactly think that hanging ribbons and arranging flowers was your cup of tea," Kelsey laughed. "I'm just about done, but I still have to run back to ZBZ and change before everyone gets here, which should be soon."

"I've gotta run back to KT, too," Spidey said. "Cap just wanted me to come down and check on the reception set-up."

"Oh crap," Kelsey said suddenly. "I left the cake in Casey's car. Want to grab it and take it out there pretty please?"

"Sure, I'll get it," Spidey said with a small laugh as she tossed him Casey's car keys. "You know I'm excited this is our first wedding together."

"Me too," Kelsey smiled. "All the time I was dating Robert, we never went to a wedding together. I swear he had a relative getting married like every year, but he never once asked me to the wedding. So you're my first wedding date, but I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Me either; it makes it all the more special for me and you," Spidey smiled. "I'll take the cake over and check on everything, then I'll meet you back at ZBZ in a bit."

"Sounds great," Kelsey said.

-GREEK-

"Girls, you all look beautiful," Casey's mother said with a smile as she entered the room in the church where the bridesmaids were gathered, waiting on Casey.

"Thanks, Mrs. Cartwright," Ashleigh said with a smile.

"Is everybody decent in here?" they heard a male voice from outside, and they saw it was Casey's father.

"Yeah, come in," Ashleigh laughed. "Casey's still getting dressed in the dressing room."

"Are you done in there, yet?" Rebecca asked impatiently, knocking on the door to the dressing room. "We've been ready for the past ten minutes."

"I'm coming!" Casey said. "Just a few more minutes."

"You've already seen the dress, just get in it and get out here," Rebecca said.

"Wow Bex, you're more impatient than I am about this," Casey said with a laugh as she came out of the dressing room.

"Case, honey, oh my gosh you look beautiful!" Casey's mom said proudly upon seeing her daughter.

"Thanks, Mom," Casey said with a smile. "Have you seen Rusty and the guys?"

"They were getting ready over in the church nursery," Mrs. Cartwright said. "They should be on their way over soon."

"Case, you look absolutely amazing in that dress!" Ashleigh said excitedly, and the others smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Thanks, guys!" Casey smiled.

"But you are missing just a few things," Ashleigh said.

"Yes, first, here's something old," Mrs. Cartwright said, handing Casey a small jewelry box, and Casey opened it. "It was your Grandma Stevens' necklace that she wore on her wedding day. I know she would have wanted you to have it."

"I love it, Mom, thanks!" Casey smiled and gave her mom a hug.

"Now here's something new," Katherine spoke up, handing Casey a new container of lip gloss.

"You always said that was Cappie's favorite flavor on you, and yeah we really needed to know that," Rebecca said sarcastically.

"I didn't need to know that, either," Casey's father spoke up.

"You just had to say that in front of my mother and father," Casey whispered to Rebecca.

"Hey, you're marrying him now; it's not like you're living in sin anymore," Rebecca laughed. "Anyway, here's something borrowed; from me I might add." She handed Casey some clips for her hair that went with her dress.

"And lastly, something blue," Ashleigh said and handed her another small jewelry box. Casey opened it and saw some blue-colored earrings that also complemented her dress well.

"Thanks so much you guys," Casey said to her bridesmaids.

"I think I'm going to go check on Rusty and the guys again and then take my place," Casey's mom said to her. "I'll see you up there; I really am proud of you, honey."

-GREEK-

"Well guys, guess we should go take our places soon," Rusty said to Beaver and Evan in the room where they were gathered with Cappie.

"But before we do, there's one thing we still need to do," Beaver said.

"What's that?" Rusty asked.

"Shots!" Beaver said, pulling out a flask he had in his pocket.

"Aren't the shots for during the reception?" Evan asked.

"It's like an unspoken tradition that the groom and groomsmen take shots before the wedding," Beaver said. "Now we just need something to drink from." He walked over to the other side of the room where he found what looked like little kids' sippy cups. "These'll work."

"Are we really gonna drink out of them after some kid's probably slobbered all over them?" Cappie asked with a laugh, and the others agreed the idea was sort of gross.

"They're clean, well I think they are," Beaver said, inspecting them. "We're in the church's nursery; it's all we've got." He poured the alcohol from his flask into the cups and gave everyone one.

"I honestly didn't think I'd be drinking liquor from a sippy cup ten minutes before my wedding," Cappie said.

"I'll make a toast," Rusty announced. "Cap, seeing you and my sister so happy makes me happy. You proved yourself to her, and there's no one else I know who's as good enough for her. So here's to my big brother and soon to be brother-in-law."

"Cheers to that," Cappie said with a smile as they all raised their cups and then took their shots.

"You ready there, groom?" Pastor Dan came in the room and interrupted them, as the guys quickly tried to hide the fact they were taking shots of alcohol out of sippy cups.

"Don't worry; you're actually not the first guys who've done that, surprisingly," Pastor Dan laughed, noticing what they'd done.

"We'll see you on the other side, Cap," Beaver said, giving Cappie a pat on the back as the groomsmen went to leave the room, leaving Cappie with the pastor.

-GREEK-

"In just about fifteen minutes you're going to be an old married lady," Rebecca joked to Casey as the music began playing and the wedding was about to start.

"Hey, I'll be married and a lady but I will not be old," Casey protested.

"This is it!" Ashleigh said excitedly to Casey. "My best friend is getting married, like, right now."

"Do I look okay?" Casey asked yet again. "Please tell me I look okay."

"Case, you look amazing," Ashleigh said. "Cappie is going to lose his breath. I'll warn Rusty to be on guard if Cappie looks like he's going to faint." Casey and Ashleigh laughed at that. "Just remember to relax, enjoy it, and take it all in. You deserve this so much and I'm so happy for you and Cap, and…no, I can't start crying right now!" She let out a chuckle as she felt like she was going to cry.

"Ash, you have no idea how glad I am that you're my best friend and my maid of honor," Casey smiled. "You've been there for me more than I ever could have asked for, and…"

"Take your places," one of the ushers announced, interrupting their conversation. "We're ready to start."

"I'll finish telling you later," Casey said. "Or else I might just start crying too."

"Good luck out there," Ashleigh said, giving Casey a hug. "Not that you'll need it, though." Everyone took their places and the first couple to walk down the aisle was Beaver and Katherine, followed by Evan and Rebecca, and then Rusty and Ashleigh. Finally, it was Casey's turn to make her appearance.

"I hope you're ready for this, Dad," Casey said to her father as they stood waiting to walk down the aisle.

"Honey, let me tell you the whole time you were growing up, I dreaded the day that this moment would happen," Mr. Cartwright said. "When I first met Cappie, I'll admit I had my doubts. But that was just me being a father. He's no doctor or lawyer, but that's not what's important. He treats you right; he really does. I'd be lying if I said I was really ready for this, but because you found someone who I know is going to be good to you, I'm more prepared for this than I ever thought I would be. I love you, honey, more than you will ever know, and you'll always be my little girl."

"I love you too, Dad," Casey said with a smile and a small laugh, trying to lighten the moment. "But save the crying for the reception; we've still got to make it down the aisle." They shared a small laugh before it was finally time for them to make their appearance. All eyes were on Casey as her father walked her down the aisle. The bridesmaids and groomsmen stood watching happily, and as expected Cappie couldn't take his eyes off of Casey. He was taken out of his daze when Casey's dad placed her hand in his, and Casey joined him at the altar.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to celebrate the joining together of Captain John Paul Jones, or better known as Cappie, and Casey Elizabeth Cartwright, in holy matrimony," Pastor Dan announced. "If anyone has any objections, speak now or forever hold your peace." The room was silent so the pastor continued with the wedding. "Cappie and Casey decided to write their own vows, so Cappie, why don't you go first."

"Casey, I was telling you the truth when I said that I've loved you since the first time I saw you," Cappie began. "I knew there was something special about you, and as time went on, I learned that there are a lot of things that are special about you. If I stood up here and named them all, we'd be here all night. You're the only person I ever thought about spending the rest of my life with, and today I'm promising myself to you forever. I will love, honor, and cherish you always, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, and until death do us part."

"Cappie, ever since we met, you've always been the one I've wanted to be with, even though I wouldn't admit it during the times we weren't together," Casey said. "I couldn't be happier that I'm giving myself to you for the rest of my life. I'll always be yours and I will love, honor, and cherish you always, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, and until death do us part."

"Now, you may present the rings," Pastor Dan said, and Cappie and Casey presented each other with their rings.

"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife," Pastor Dan announced at the close of the ceremony. "You may now kiss the bride." Friends and relatives clapped in celebration as Cappie kissed Casey.

"I now present to you Mr. and Mrs. Cappie Jones," Pastor Dan announced to everyone. The music began playing as Cappie and Casey made their exit down the aisle, followed by the bridesmaids and groomsmen. Cappie pulled Casey into the first side room he found after they walked back down the aisle, and he shut the door.

"You're my wife now," Cappie said, smiling down at Casey with his arms around her. "And I've waited a long time to say that."

"And you're my husband," Casey smiled back at him. "And it feels so good to be able to call you that." Before either of them could say anything else, Cappie kissed her, but soon they were interrupted when someone barged into the room.

"April!" Cappie said, noticing it was his mom that entered. "I'm glad you're here and all, but right now, not so much."

"Whoopsie!" April said. "Guess I should've knocked, huh? Case, your mom and I want to get some pictures, so let's get that over with and then you can go back to this, okay?"

"Mothers, huh," Casey said to Cappie with a laugh after April walked out of the room. "They do know the photographers are here to take the pictures for us so they don't have to."

"Can't live with them, can't live without 'em," Cappie said. "Let's just let them take a few pictures with us and everyone, and then I think our ride awaits, my wife."

"Ride?" Casey asked. "Isn't the reception just out back?"

"You didn't think I wouldn't get us a limo for our wedding, did you?" Cappie asked. "The driver's just going to drive us around town for a bit so we can have some husband and wife time before we party with everyone, if you know what I mean."

"Mmm, then I'm definitely glad you got us a limo," Casey smiled and kissed him.

"Case, Cappie, it's picture time!" This time it was Casey's mother that interrupted them.

"Oh for Pete's sake; let's get this over with," Casey said to Cappie. "Then we can get onto the real fun."

-GREEK-

"Where are they already?" Rebecca asked impatiently as the wedding party and guests were now all gathered for the reception, but Cappie and Casey still had not arrived.

"They'll be here soon, Bex," Ashleigh said.

"The limo's coming now," Katherine announced, joining the rest of the wedding party. Cappie and Casey got out of the limo and came over a few minutes later.

"There you two are!" Cappie's mom said excitedly, and then turned to all of the wedding guests. "Everyone, I'd like to introduce again our favorite couple of the hour, Cappie and Casey Jones!" Everyone cheered after Cappie's mom made the announcement, and then the DJ put on the song for Cappie and Casey's first dance as a married couple.

"May I have this dance, my wife?" Cappie asked, holding his hand out to Casey.

"For the rest of my life, my husband," Casey smiled, taking his hand as they moved toward the dance floor.

_We spent some time  
>Together walking<br>Spent some time just talking  
>About who we were<br>You held my hand so  
>Very tightly<br>And told me what we  
>Could be dreaming of<br>There's nothing like you and I_

_Nothing like you and I_

_There's nothing like you and I_

"I told you I'd pick the perfect first dance song for us," Cappie said, holding Casey in his arms as they danced, feeling like they were the only people there.

"I didn't doubt you for a second," Casey said. "This has been our song since day one." They were silent for a moment, just enjoying the song and being with each other, and then Casey spoke up again. "You know, everything about today has been just perfect; I don't know what I was so worried about."

"See how much it pays to listen to me," Cappie said jokingly. "When it comes to you and me, no matter how much we go through, everything's going to work out in the end."

"We really are like the power couple," Casey said. "And now we always will be." Cappie and Casey enjoyed the rest of the song, and when it finished, the DJ announced it was time for the father/daughter dance.

"So how many more dances do we have to have before we can eat cake?" Beaver asked half jokingly, once Cappie came back over to the guys as Casey went to dance with her father.

"I just want to watch you guys shove it in each other's faces," Evan said to Cappie with a laugh.

-GREEK-

"All the girls gather round," Ashleigh announced to everyone as the reception continued. "Casey's about to throw her bouquet." She joined Rebecca close to the front of the crowd. "Maybe if I catch this thing it might be a good sign."

"You're still on board this whole getting married train?" Rebecca asked her.

"Yeah, and I don't think I'll ever get off it until it happens," Ashleigh said.

"You're probably just going to have to ask him," Rebecca said half jokingly. "This _is_ the 21st century, where people are bending the old rules of marriage every day."

"I wouldn't do that, at least not right now," Ashleigh said. "I don't want to push it, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't really want it to happen."

"Ready, girls?" Casey asked everyone, and everyone cheered for her to throw the bouquet. She threw the flowers, and Katherine ended up being the one to catch them.

"This means that you're supposedly the next one of us to get married," Casey said to Katherine, as she gathered with her bridesmaids after Katherine caught the bouquet. "Hmm, could there be something you're keeping from us?"

"Walter and I aren't engaged," Katherine said. "But that's not to say that I wouldn't say yes if he asked me."

"Really, you're on this marriage train too?" Rebecca asked her.

"What do you mean 'too'?" Casey asked confused. "Who else might be getting married?"

"Uh, obviously I'm talking about you, who just got married," Rebecca said, forgetting that Casey probably didn't know about Ashleigh's desire to get married. "I mean, who else?"

"Anyway, I think it's time to cut the cake!" Ashleigh said excitedly.

-GREEK-

"Enjoying yourself, Russ?" Casey asked Rusty, running into him on her way back out from the restroom.

"Yeah you better believe I am!" Rusty said happily. "Back before I came to CRU, I never even thought we'd be close enough that I'd even be at your wedding, much less be standing up in it as best man. This is just as great for me as it is for you and Cap."

"I guess it goes to show just how much things can change for the better," Casey smiled. "I never thought we'd be where we are right now, either. But I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Me either," Rusty said. "I was just talking to Mom and Dad a few minutes ago, and Mom said she really wants us to have a dance. I can't say I disagree with her. You know, no matter how many times we have and will continue to annoy each other, the fact is we're closer now than we are to either of our parents; you've gotta admit that."

"As cheesy as you just made that sound, you're still absolutely right," Casey said with a small laugh. Just then the DJ changed the song and "Landslide" began playing. "I do love this song; so what do you say, want to dance?"

"Let's do it, sis," Rusty said with a smile and they made their way to the dance floor. "There are Mom and Dad; Mom looks like she's going to cry." Rusty pointed out their parents to Casey.

"I think ours and Cappie's parents have both been on the verge of tears for most of today," Casey laughed. "Oh and you want to know something else; I swear most of our family has asked me when it's going to be your turn."

"They've all asked me, too," Rusty said. "It's like they're almost expecting it to happen."

"You've got to tell me if you've got something up your sleeve," Casey said. "I promise I won't say anything to Ash."

"You'll know when it's the right time," Rusty said. "Right now, I don't have anything up my sleeve. But you'll just have to wait and see."

-GREEK-

_This is the dance for all the lovers  
>Takin' a chance for one another<br>Finally it's our time now  
>These are the times that we'll remember<br>Breaking the city's heart together  
>Finally it's our time now<br>It's our time now  
>Oh oh oh oh oh<br>Oh oh oh oh oh_

"You know if we ever had our own TV show or something, this would be our theme song," Calvin spoke up as 'Our Time Now' was playing while Rusty, Ashleigh, Evan, Rebecca, Calvin, and Dale were gathered, dancing with Cappie and Casey in one corner.

"Really, us on our own TV show; who would watch that?" Evan laughed.

"Yeah, no one cares about our drama," Rebecca said.

"If we'd filmed ourselves and our friends over the past four years and watched ourselves back, I'd probably think we were all a bunch of crazy people for the most part," Ashleigh laughed.

"Hey, I happen to think we're all quite entertaining," Dale said. "I'd watch us."

"You know it seems like just yesterday the six of us were saying goodbye to you guys as you left Cyprus," Calvin said. "And here we are now, a year and a half later and you're married."

"Time flies, buddy," Cappie said. "Won't be long and we'll be back to see all you kids graduate. I hope you're ready."

"I'm more ready than I ever was," Rusty said. "I'll say that much."

"Right there with ya," Dale said. "But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't going to miss this place. And you of course, Casey." Cappie gave him a look, but knew he was joking.

"I was just joking, buddy," Dale said. "But I just had to throw that in there. All in good fun."

"It's always all in good fun with you, Dale, and believe it or not I knew that," Casey said. "When you started hitting on me as a freshman, you knew we would never work out."

"Yeah, but it didn't hurt a guy to try," Dale laughed.

"Hey here comes a photographer," Calvin spoke up, seeing a man with a camera walking toward them. "We need a group picture of the eight of us."

"Okay, _Mom_," Casey said jokingly. "Let's take one."

-GREEK-

"I think it might be time to call it a night, or well, a morning," Ashleigh said to Rusty, as they were two of the only people left cleaning up a bit after the reception. It was well after midnight by now.

"Yeah, Cap and Case left hours ago and we've got to take them to the airport by noon," Rusty said. "Case still doesn't know where they're going on their honeymoon, but I think she'll be pleasantly surprised."

"I know she will be," Ashleigh agreed. "Plus, she'll be with Cappie, so of course she'll love it even more."

"Have you ever thought about what your wedding would be like, Ash?" Rusty asked suddenly.

"Well yeah, I think almost every girl on the face of the earth has," Ashleigh said. "When I was a little girl, I dreamed of this big, expensive, Cinderella wedding. But now, I don't think any of that matters as long as I'm marrying the right person." She flashed a smile at Rusty. "You know I heard some of your relatives asking when it'll be your turn. Some of them even asked me."

"I said when the time's right, it'll happen," Rusty said, smiling at her. "And it will happen, maybe sooner than you think. Trust me."

-GREEK-

"It's almost 11AM and Cap and Case still haven't graced us with their presence," Evan spoke up as the wedding party, along with the guests, were gathered at the KT house eating brunch. "Don't you have to take them to the airport in about an hour?"

"Yeah, we're supposed to," Rusty said.

"Oh they'll probably get here with about ten minutes to spare, shove some food down their throats, and then demand you take them to the airport now so they can go off into more wedded bliss," Rebecca said.

"Did you guys notice who else didn't come back here last night, besides Cap and Case of course?" Ashleigh spoke up. "Beaver and Katherine."

"Yeah, I wonder what's going on with them," Rusty said. "They left the reception not long after Cap and Case."

"We're here, we're here!" Cappie announced as he and Casey entered the KT house moments later.

"Nice of you to _finally_ join us," Rebecca said jokingly.

"Just for long enough to eat and see everyone off and then we're on the way to somewhere that I really want to find out!" Casey said.

"And somewhere I can't wait to surprise you with," Cappie said to Casey. Just then, Beaver and Katherine entered the house.

"Hey, where have you guys been?" Rusty asked.

"We'd tell you, but we probably shouldn't steal Cap and Case's thunder now," Beaver said.

"Okay, if it's something that big, you've gotta say it," Casey said.

"Yeah, we give you full permission," Cappie said.

"WALTER PROPOSED TO ME!" Katherine shouted, unable to hide her excitement any longer. Forks and jaws around the room dropped.

"Oh my gosh, you're kidding!" Casey spoke up first. "Seriously?"

"A hundred percent serious," Beaver spoke up. "We're getting married; don't know when, but we're getting married!"

"That's so great you guys!" Rusty said happily.

"You picked the night of my wedding of all nights to propose to your girlfriend?" Cappie asked Beaver, but then started laughing. "I'm just kidding; really, congrats you guys!"

"Looks like we've got another CRU wedding in the picture already," Ashleigh said. "I guess the magic of the bouquet really works."

"And of course I want you both to be in it," Katherine said to Casey and Ashleigh.

"This has been hands down, the best wedding and wedding weekend I could have ever asked for," Casey said. "Whenever yours happens, I'm going to make sure it's the same for you. You have to tell us how the proposal happened though!"

"I'll save that for when we catch up after your honeymoon," Katherine said. "It's still about you and Cappie now. So go eat and drink, so you can run off and be merry." Casey caught up with Cappie, who was fixing both of them a plate of food in the kitchen.

"For you, madam," Cappie said, handing Casey her plate. "Is it bad that I just want us to eat as fast as we can so we can get out of here?"

"No, I feel the same way," Casey laughed. "We've spent most of the weekend with friends and family, but for these next two weeks it's going to be our time, just you and me."

"And I can't wait to spend them with you," Cappie smiled. "You're the best thing that has ever happened to me, Case, and I don't think I can tell you enough how happy I am that we're married. I love you so much."

"I love you more than you'll ever know, Cap," Casey smiled. "And I'll love you more every day for the rest of our lives."

A/N: Hey guys! Hope you didn't think I'd forgotten about this or dropped off the face of the earth, lol. I've just been really busy the past few months and it took a little longer to think about how to write this chapter besides. Hope you like it! And I definitely won't let it be this long again before I finish the next chapter. Only two more to go!

Also, something else I should mention-one of my readers told me that he's going to be starting his own Greek fanfiction that will take place following mine. So look forward to that as well; this story won't be the end of keeping the legacy that is Greek alive! :)


	19. Save Tonight

Episode #19: Save Tonight

Setting: Initiation week, about a week before graduation

Synopsis: It's the end of the year and the end of an era, which means it's time for Rusty, Rebecca, and Calvin to pass on control of their houses. Meanwhile, a former KT returns to reconcile a conflict once and for all, someone celebrates a birthday, and Cappie and Casey return from their honeymoon.

-GREEK-

"So tonight begins Hell Week," Rusty announced to the group of KT brothers in the living room. "At the end of the week, we'll be initiating the biggest group of pledges in chapter history. But you all know the drill."

"We've gotta psych them out," Anthony Hopkins said. "Make them think they're not going to become brothers, and make them bow to our every will."

"And just make them do stuff for our own amusement," Pickle said.

"That's right," Rusty said. "Now you all have your assigned dorms; let's divide, conquer, and have all the pledges back here in an hour."

"Did we really have to dress like this?" Spidey asked Rusty, as all of the brothers were wearing masks over their faces so they couldn't be identified. "We look like we're about to rob a bank."

"If we were really going to rob a bank, we'd have guns," Rusty said. "It's just an extra touch to scare the pledges."

"Hey I wanted to ask you something," Spidey said, as both of them walked out of the house, on their way to the pledges' dorms. "How'd you deal with not seeing your girlfriend all summer last year? I think she's going to California this summer to work at Frannie's company."

"Really, since when?" Rusty asked.

"It's not completely official yet," Spidey said. "I guess Frannie is waiting for approval from her boss, but she thinks it's going to happen. Anyway, how did you and Ash keep a long-distance relationship all summer?"

"We used Skype, and used it a lot," Rusty said. "And I'd e-mail her every night before I went to bed, and she e-mailed me every night before she went to bed. It wasn't easy, but spending that much time apart really is a test of your relationship."

"Yeah, I'm happy for her; I mean she's my girlfriend so that's what I should be," Spidey said. "But it's like we just got together a few months ago, and now she's leaving for a few months. I can't help but wonder what's going to happen with us."

"I highly doubt she's going to go out there and hook up with some other guy, if that's what you're thinking," Rusty said. "As much as you guys went through just to be together; she's not just going to throw it all away like that."

"You're probably right," Spidey said. "But just to be sure, I'm going to give her the best party ever for her birthday on Saturday, just to make sure she doesn't forget about me and all our friends."

-GREEK-

"I can't believe I'm finally going to be 21 on Saturday," Kelsey said to Ashleigh. "I just want to be able to go into Dobler's and actually get myself a drink.

"Any big plans for your birthday?" Ashleigh asked. "We all should totally go out."

"Yeah that's what I was thinking," Kelsey said. "After ZBZ's initiation night that is; seeing as how that's the same night as my birthday."

"Yeah that's right," Ashleigh said. "How are the pledges holding up? And Rebecca?"

"They'll make it I think," Kelsey said with a laugh. "I think Rebecca will too actually when she hands the presidential reigns over to Abby on I-night. She is trying to inflict as much torture on the pledges this week though when she still can."

"Yeah, that's Rebecca for you," Ashleigh said. Just then Kelsey's cell phone rang.

"Oh I think this is Frannie," Kelsey said. "She was supposed to call me back after she talked to her boss." She answered the phone. "Hello."

"Hey," Frannie said on the other end. "So I talked to my boss and I have good news! She said she could use some extra help this summer so she wants you to come and work with us."

"Oh my gosh that's great!" Kelsey said excitedly.

"She wants to know how soon you can be here," Frannie said.

"Well I guess I can be there right after graduation weekend," Kelsey said. "I would like to stick around for that, unless I really need to be there sooner."

"No, that should be fine," Frannie said. "Guess I'll see you in a few weeks then."

"Yeah, thank you so much!" Kelsey said, and then hung up. She turned to Ashleigh. "I'm going to California!"

"That's awesome!" Ashleigh said excitedly. "Guess we'll both be leaving the office in Cyprus for a while. I'm excited for you."

"Yeah I can't wait," Kelsey said. "It's always been like my secret dream job to work in the entertainment business. The only thing is this means I'll be 3,000 miles away from my boyfriend and friends for three months. How was it for you and Rusty when he was gone last summer?"

"At times it sucked being miles away from each other," Ashleigh said. "But it worked out. We Skyped multiple times a week and after the initial separation we were both okay. You have to take this internship for you, just like Rusty had to for him last year. If I know your relationship like I think I do, I know you'll be fine."

-GREEK-

"This looks disgusting," one of the ZBZ pledges said, observing the strange bowl of unidentified food in front of her. Her pledge sisters surrounding her looked at their bowls and agreed.

"I don't care how gross it looks," Rebecca said sternly. "Eat it!" The pledges eventually followed orders and ate the food with disgusted looks on their faces.

"Wow, is this a bad time?" Evan said, entering the room and chuckling at the sight of Rebecca ordering around the pledges.

"You want some too?" Rebecca jokingly offered Evan some of the disgusting food the pledges were forced to eat.

"Nah, I think I'll pass," Evan laughed. "So since I just finished my last final and you don't have class today, I thought we could go somewhere for the rest of the day, just you and me."

"As great as that sounds," Rebecca began. "I think you know what I have to do for the rest of the day."

"Why don't you let your soon-to-be new president handle things for today and tonight?" Evan asked. "I think you really should. Plus, we've barely had any time alone together in the past three weeks because of the wedding and finals."

"All right, I'll come with you," Rebecca said. "I'll tell Abby and the new pledge educator that the pledges are in their hands. Give me five minutes and I'll be back down." She kissed him and went to go upstairs.

-GREEK-

"Well this is it," Ash," Rusty said to her as they were hanging out at KT, studying some for their finals. "My last week as KT president."

"Are you ready to pass the proverbial torch?" Ashleigh asked.

"You know what, I am," Rusty said. "I know I've made the right decision in helping the house take the next step. All I can ask for now is to be remembered for helping get the house back in good standing where it belongs. That's what I want to be my legacy."

"You know you've made an amazing legacy for yourself, Russ," Ashleigh said. "You turned things around for this place so much. You don't hear people around Greek Row talking much anymore about how the KTs are just a bunch of dumb, lazy guys and all they like to do is party. You've made people realize that KT is so much more than that, and that is your legacy. You're going to be remembered for a long time around this place."

"Thanks, Ash," Rusty smiled and kissed her. "When we were about to lose the old house, I thought that was the end for KT. There was a time when I thought I wouldn't even graduate CRU as a KT. But now here we are, and I can say for sure that nothing's going to bring this place down anytime soon." Just then there was a knock at the door, and just as Rusty was about to go answer it, a familiar man walked in the living room.

"Well I can tell it's Hell Week," the man said. "Your pledge educator had the pledges running across campus in their underwear; that's a classic."

"Lasker, what are you doing here?" Rusty asked, as he saw the man was no other than Lasker Parkes.

"Just dropping in for a visit," Lasker said. "In fact I'm in town through the weekend; just checking up on some things. And to see my son of course; where is he?"

"I think in class," Rusty said. "Does he know you're here?"

"No; I didn't know I was coming until yesterday," Lasker said. "Mind if I just hang out here until he gets back, maybe grab a beer?"

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea," Rusty said.

"Maybe you're right; probably should have called first," Lasker said.

"Dad, what are you doing here?" Spidey asked, entering the room before anyone could say anything else.

"I'm here to check in on my son of course, and to meet this new girlfriend of yours," Lasker said. "So where is she, kiddo?" Then, Lasker's phone suddenly rang. "Hello…yeah I'm on my way…okay, I'm leaving now."

"So who was that?" Spidey asked.

"I also have to check in on how things are going with the athletic center," Lasker said.

"I should have known that's the real reason why you're here," Spidey said.

"I may have some business I need to take care of while I'm here," Lasker said. "But I was going to come anyway when I heard you're going to be taking over the reins of this place soon."

"How'd you know that?" Spidey asked.

"I have my sources," Lasker said. "Anyway, I've got to go now, but what do you say to dinner tonight? And bring your girlfriend."

"Okay, I'll agree to dinner, one dinner," Spidey said. "We'll meet you on campus at 6."

"Sounds good," Lasker said, then he said goodbye and left.

"You have to come with us," Spidey said to Rusty once Lasker left. "Things are still awkward between me and my dad and I really don't want to bring my girlfriend into it alone."

"Before, I probably would have gone with you," Rusty said. "But honestly, I really don't think you need me there. Want to know how your dad found out about you becoming president?"

"How?" Spidey asked.

"I e-mailed him the other day," Rusty said.

"You e-mailed my father?" Spidey asked surprised. "Why'd you do that? You know what he's probably going to tell me at dinner? That becoming president of this house is crazy and if I choose that path he's going to pull the rest of my tuition money or something."

"From where I see it, I think he wants to make things right again," Rusty said. "He wants you to forgive him."

"Even after all this time, I still can't completely forgive him," Spidey said.

"You're going to be running this house in just a couple of days," Rusty said. "If you can't handle your own father, then how are you going to handle a houseful of sixty guys?"

"Being a good president has nothing to do with my father," Spidey stated.

"I think it has something to do with him," Rusty said. "You're going to have to talk things over with him once and for all, and figure out a way to forgive him, or else you're going to do things to spite him that could even hurt the house."

"I didn't think of it like that I guess," Spidey said.

"Well, think about it now," Rusty said. "This is the last thing I'm asking of you before the house becomes yours. Just try to make things right with your dad. Not just for the house, but for yourself too."

-GREEK-

"Morning, sleepyhead," Casey said with a smile to Cappie, as she turned around from her spot on the balcony of the cruise ship they were on to see him behind her. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Not long enough," Cappie smiled, walking up to her and wrapping his arms around her, kissing her cheek. "You just look so beautiful in that sundress, staring out into the ocean."

"Aw, Cap," Casey smiled, leaning back into him. "I still can't believe you took me on this incredible cruise. Do we have to go home today? Can't we just stay another week and then just go right to CRU for graduation?"

"You don't want to go back to work, do you?" Cappie asked. "Neither do I. I love my job, but being here with you is still much better."

"I feel exactly the same way," Casey said. "Would I rather be here, staring out into the ocean with my wonderful husband, or stuck in an office without my wonderful husband and very little air conditioning? I think the choice is clear there."

"True that," Cappie said, still hugging her from behind as they both continued staring out into the ocean.

-GREEK-

"Hey guys," Ashleigh greeted as she and Rusty met Beaver and Katherine at Dobler's.

"How was the last day of school, Beav?" Rusty asked.

"The children are so going to miss me," Beaver said. "Some of them asked me if I was going to be their teacher again next year, and I had to be the bearer of bad news."

"I'm sure they'll come back to see you next year," Ashleigh said. "And you'll have a whole new class that'll love you."

"Oh, they will," Beaver said. "And until then, I'll be working with Wade at Gentleman's Choice for the summer. Katherine said I needed a summer job since we are planning a wedding and all, and that's the easiest one I could find."

"I still say he could do better than working in a strip club," Katherine said. "But he's just going to be a daytime bartender slash waiter, so it's not all that bad. And speaking of the wedding, guess what?"

"Did you set a date?" Ashleigh asked excitedly.

"Yep," Katherine said.

"December 22," Beaver said. "Three days before Christmas."

"That's great!" Rusty said happily. "And it's great that we'll be back and can be here for it."

"Well we hope you'll be here because we want you both to be in the wedding," Beaver said.

"Really?" Ashleigh asked.

"Yes, I'd love for you to be one of my bridesmaids, Ash," Katherine said. "I'm going to ask Casey if she'll be my maid, well, matron of honor. I hope you're not offended."

"Of course, and I'm not offended at all," Ashleigh said truthfully. "You and Casey have been friends longer than you and me."

"Looks like Casey and Cappie are going from being the bride and groom, to the maid of honor and best man," Rusty said.

"Yeah, and I know our wedding won't be the only time that happens," Beaver said.

-GREEK-

"Are we ready to be initiated yet?" a tired looking Omega Chi pledge asked Calvin and Dale as they stood watching all the pledges trimming the rosebushes with their bare hands.

"No!" Dale shouted. "You'll be initiated when we say you will be. Now get back to work."

"I see you're enjoying your last few days of this," Calvin said with a laugh. "Ordering around the pledges."

"By initiation day, they'll be glad to see me gone," Dale said, and just then his phone beeped. He took it out and read the text message. "Oh geez."

"What is it?" Calvin asked.

"It's a text from my sister," Dale said. "It says '_I know your secret_'. I just know that can only mean one thing."

"That somehow she found out that you and Laura got married in Vegas?" Calvin asked.

"Yep," Dale said. "I can't believe my own wife would do this to me! Even though my sister is so manipulative, she probably got it out of Laura."

"Wait a minute, you don't know it was Laura that told her," Calvin said.

"You and Rusty are the only other ones who know, and neither of you would tell her," Dale said. "My sister is such a gossip. This is going to be out amongst the entire Greek system before Hell Week is over. Heck, before the _day's_ over."

"Weren't you guys going to tell everyone next week after graduation, anyway?" Calvin asked. "And what about your parents; don't they know?"

"Yeah, I wanted _us_ to tell everyone ourselves when the time was right," Dale said. "And gosh, yes my parents know, and I didn't even think of that. But they promised they wouldn't tell her until we were ready."

"You said yourself though that your sister is manipulative, and they're her parents too," Calvin said.

"I will not be happy if I find out that Mom and Dad told her," Dale said. "Can you watch the pledges for a bit; I need to find and kill my sister before she tells everyone."

-GREEK-

"Back to reality again I suppose," Casey said to Cappie as they got into Casey's car at the Washington DC airport and started driving home. "Not only do we have to go back to work tomorrow, but we've got a ton of post-wedding stuff to do. Like sorting through all the gifts and writing thank-you notes. You'll have to help me with some of it."

"Don't worry; I will," Cappie said.

"Hey what's that noise?" Casey asked after a moment, hearing a strange clunking noise coming from somewhere.

"It's not me," Cappie said, as Casey stopped at a red light. "I think it's the car, but I don't think it should be making that noise."

"Yeah, neither do I," Casey said, as the light turned green and she tried to go, but found the car wouldn't move as she hit the gas pedal.

"Uh yeah, I think there's something wrong with your car," Cappie said, stating the obvious.

"Oh really," Casey said sarcastically, frustrated with her car. A few seconds later, she finally got the car to move. "Okay, now it goes, but…oh my gosh!"

"What is it?" Cappie asked concerned.

"My temperature gauge," Casey said, freaking out now. "It's all the way on high."

"Well pull over!" Cappie said, and Casey immediately pulled the car over on the shoulder.

"Get out!" Casey ordered Cappie as she made to quickly exit the car herself. "I think it might blow!"

"I think it's fine now that you shut it off," Cappie said, exiting the car more calmly than Casey. "But I think we're definitely going to have to have it towed somewhere."

"I don't understand," Casey said. "I've never had problems like this with this car; I've never broken down before. Other than when I was bringing the homecoming float for you guys, but that wasn't my car."

"It'll be fine; you know how many times I've broken down in the Broncosaurus and I've got it fixed," Cappie said, pulling Casey into him so she was leaning on his shoulder. "I'll check my phone and find us a tow truck." Just then a man in a pickup truck pulled up behind them.

"You folks all right?" the man asked, getting out of his truck and approaching Cappie and Casey.

"Well something's definitely wrong with her car," Cappie said. "I'm trying to find us a tow truck."

"I used to be a part-time mechanic so I know a thing or two about cars," the man said. "Why don't I take a look?"

"Sure, that would be great," Casey said. "Thank you."

"Just pop your hood," the man said, and Casey opened the hood for him. He looked around for a few minutes and then spoke again. "Oh yep, I think I see the problem."

"What is it, is it bad?" Casey asked.

"Looks to me like it could be your transmission," the man said.

"Oh man, that's a biggie," Cappie said.

"You're right about that, man," the man said. "Could take some time to fix and it's well beyond what I can do. The most I can do is call a friend of mine who can get you towed somewhere."

"Thank you, sir," Casey said. "And do you have any idea how long this might take?"

"I've seen jobs like this take two weeks at times," the man said.

"Two weeks!" Casey exclaimed, and then turned to Cappie. "We've got to be in Cyprus next Friday. And you know the Broncosaurus will never get us there!"

"We'll figure it all out," Cappie said, hugging Casey. "For now, let's just get it to a shop and then they can tell us what it'll take."

-GREEK-

"So your dad just showed up here unannounced?" Kelsey asked Spidey at the KT house later that day.

"Apparently Rusty e-mailed him and kinda suggested that he come," Spidey said. "And he thinks I'm not going to be a good president unless I forgive my dad, and you know what he might be right in a way. But I truly do want the job because I love the house, not to spite my dad."

"Then what's holding you back from forgiving him?" Kelsey asked. "We've been through a lot together, and yet you've forgiven me. I don't know how much I can judge because for one, I've never met the man, yet. And two, I wasn't here when he had your house torn down, so I didn't see it firsthand. But from where I saw things, aren't you guys a lot better off now than you were when you were in the old house? You've said before how the house and the brothers were barely getting by the past few years before it was torn down."

"Yeah, that was true," Spidey said. "We are a lot better off now, thanks to Rusty stepping up after Cappie graduated and turning the house around."

"Well look at it this way," Kelsey said. "It sounds like everything you guys went through made you all realize that you can't just get by. You have to work to be a part of the Greek system. Fake philanthropy, a fake brother who got all A's, an undercover rush party; that stuff would have never lasted forever. If your dad wasn't the one to uncover all of that, then sooner or later somebody would have. If it weren't for him, then you'd all probably still be bending over backwards just to get by when you could be doing so much more. Don't you think your dad's doing really turned all of your brothers into better people in the end?"

"When you put it like that, well, it almost makes sense," Spidey said.

"Almost?" Kelsey asked with a laugh.

"Okay, it makes perfect sense," Spidey said.

"I'm not saying what he did was right," Kelsey said. "You had every right to be upset with him in the beginning, but now time has passed, and I think if you look back you'll realize there's really nothing you should be holding against him anymore. I'm not trying to be pushy, but…"

"No, I think pushy is exactly what I needed," Spidey said. "You and Rusty are right. I'm going to be president of the house in three days, and I need to get over this once and for all. So, are you ready to come and meet my dad?"

"I'm ready," Kelsey said. "I intend on taking a very long bathroom break during dinner though because you two really need to talk."

-GREEK-

"What? No way; I know you've gotta be kidding!" Rebecca exclaimed in surprise back at the ZBZ house.

"Nope, I'm not even joking," Rachel said. "Dale and Laura got married when you were all in Vegas. My parents gave in and told me, and I wasn't supposed to tell anyone, but you guys won't say anything, right?"

"No, of course not," the sisters surrounding her said. Of course they were lying.

"How did it happen?" one of Rachel's pledge sisters asked.

"Apparently they won big at the casino and had both been drinking a lot, and it just happened," Rachel said. Just then they heard the front door open and slam shut.

"Okay I gotta know," Rebecca said as Dale walked into the kitchen. "Is your sister just messing with us, or did you and Laura really get married at New Years'?"

"How could you tell them!" Dale yelled at his sister, ignoring Rebecca.

"Hey, this was my one last chance to mess with you before you graduate," Rachel said. The other sisters had left the kitchen now, and Dale, Rachel, and Rebecca were the only ones left.

"So when were you planning on telling everyone?" Rebecca asked Dale.

"At graduation," Dale said, and then turned back to his sister. "I can't believe Mom and Dad told you; even they know what a big mouth you have."

"Well like you said, you were going to tell everyone next week anyway," Rachel said.

"Yeah, _we_ wanted to tell people," Dale said. "Now I know why no one ever wants to trust you with secrets. You know Laura's going to kill you when she gets back from class and finds out."

"Finds what out?" Laura asked, entering the kitchen just then.

"Guess who found out about us getting married and then decided to tell half the ZBZ house," Dale said.

"What, you told!" Laura exclaimed at Rachel.

"Honestly, I didn't really think it was that big of a deal," Rachel said.

"You never think anything is a big deal," Dale said. "Obviously it didn't sink in when you lost friends over the years because of your big mouth."

"I've been your big sister all year and then this is what you do," Laura said angrily. "Wow, I really just can't wait to graduate and I'll never have to talk to you again."

"Join the club," Dale said, agreeing with Laura.

-GREEK-

"At least this city has a good subway system," Casey said to Cappie as they finally arrived home after having Casey's car towed. "I just hope it's not as serious as that guy said, but he sounded pretty knowledgeable, so I'm afraid it might be."

"We'll make it to Cyprus," Cappie assured. "If we have to, we'll just take a bus up there, and we really won't need a car when we're there." Casey's phone rang just then.

"Hello," she answered. "Yeah this is she…what!…twenty five hundred dollars?…well I need a car so yeah I need to have it fixed…okay thanks, bye."

"Twenty five hundred dollars to fix it?" Cappie asked.

"Unfortunately," Casey sighed. "And it won't be done until we're back from Cyprus; they know it's a transmission thing but they're still not 100% sure what's wrong. And they have to order some parts. But right now I don't even know if we've got the money to fix it."

"We've got some money saved up that we were going to use for a future vacation," Cappie said. "But fixing your car is more important now, so just use the money for that."

"Do you realize our financial situation isn't the best right now?" Casey asked. "Granted our parents paid for most of the wedding expenses, we paid a lot too, especially for the honeymoon."

"We can still make rent and bills, right?" Cappie asked.

"Yeah, but I think we're going to have to slow down a bit," Casey said. "And by that I mean we may not get to go everywhere we want to right now. Spring break was another big expense. And we talked about visiting Rusty and Ashleigh after they get settled in this summer, but that may have to wait a while."

"As long as I have you, I'm perfectly happy staying here more," Cappie said. "Maybe we are going a bit too much for our budget; some people just make it look so easy though, you know."

"I know what you mean," Casey said. "I see people our age who seem to always be going somewhere; I wonder if they ever work and how they have the money to do it all. We're both working entry level jobs that pay enough to live off of, but don't leave us much else to go how we've been going on a regular basis."

"I think it's a perfect time to take a break and save up some money," Cappie said. "We just got married and there's plenty we could be doing here. After graduation, we probably won't be going to Cyprus as much, either."

"I'm really glad you're on the same page as me on this," Casey said. "It's something I've thought about, especially after I got the bills for some of our wedding expenses, but I didn't really want to give up on the fun we were having. Now with my car, though, we might have to."

"Hey, there's a lot of fun we can still have right here in our own city," Cappie said. "Like I said, as long as I'm with you, I don't care where we are. I'm going to book us tickets on the cheapest bus to Cyprus for next Friday, and then how about we celebrate our first night at home as a married couple with some pie?"

"I love you," Casey told him and smiled.

-GREEK-

"I want you to know I'm proud of you, son," Lasker said as he and Spidey were talking at dinner. "Being president of KT was something I never got to do; I ran, but ended up losing the election."

"How could you lose?" Spidey asked. "You created Joshua Whopper; didn't the guys like you for that?"

"I think they were jealous," Lasker said. "They wished it was them who did it. But now you're getting the opportunity that I wanted but never got. And I want you to enjoy it, because you deserve it."

"Why did I think you were going to say something along the lines of I would be wasting my time by becoming KT president?" Spidey asked.

"I can admit now that I don't blame you for being upset with me all this time," Lasker said. "After realizing I might have made a mistake after having the old house torn down, I never admitted it or did what I should have done, which was apologize. I messed up; I know the athletic center is a great addition to CRU and I'm glad it's being built, but I was wrong in the way I went about it, and I'm sorry. For one thing, that was a pretty bad time for me. Your mom and I were going through a lot and were about to split up, and I knew my business was struggling a bit and I needed something to get it going again. But honestly, that shouldn't be an excuse. I shouldn't have gone behind the backs of the house that gave me four of the best years of my life. It took almost losing my son to realize what a mistake I made."

"Dad, you know if you'd admitted that sooner, things might have gotten better between us before," Spidey said. "What bothered me is after you had the house torn down, you acted like it didn't even happen and tried to make me and the guys forget about it too. You didn't seem to realize that you made a mistake. I didn't want to be mad at you, but I couldn't help but feel betrayed."

"I'm going to make it up to you, somehow," Lasker said. "Are you doing anything this summer?"

"I was going to work at the camp again; they asked me to come back," Spidey said.

"Well how would you like to come out to New York with me and work at my company instead?" Lasker asked. "My research team is looking for some interns to help them in the lab this summer. You're going into your junior year already; it would really help you a lot."

"Really, I could get an internship just like that?" Spidey asked.

"Well I do own the company," Lasker said with a laugh. "If I want to hire someone, for whatever job within the company, I can do it."

"Okay, yeah that sounds great!" Spidey said. "I'll do it."

"We're going to have a great summer," Lasker said. "I want us to get back on track like the way things used to be."

"Things will never be like they used to be," Spidey said. "But they can be better than they have been."

"You know I really like this girlfriend of yours," Lasker said, changing the subject. "And she's interning in California this summer? That's pretty ambitious."

"Yeah, I'm really happy for her," Spidey said. "With me in New York now, we really will be on opposite sides of the country. Speaking of her, I should probably call her and say she can come out of the bathroom now."

-GREEK-

"Wait, Dale and Laura seriously got married when we were in Vegas?" Ashleigh asked Rusty as she was hanging out in his room when he was getting ready for initiation night. "How did you never tell me that?"

"Calvin and I were sworn to secrecy," Rusty said. "Unfortunately, his cover was blown a week before everyone would have found out. They were going to announce it after graduation."

"I have to say I'm not that too surprised," Ashleigh said. "What, after he asked Sheila the landlady to marry him before. Only this time it actually happened between him and Laura. For some strange reason those two actually seem to work."

"Yeah, I honestly never would have imagined it at first," Rusty said with a laugh. "But I'm happy for them."

"I should get going," Ashleigh said, noticing it was about time for Rusty to round up the guys to start initiation. "I'll come back by later before we all go over for Kelsey's party. Speaking of which, I need to make sure everything's set at Dobler's, again. Your little brother was literally texting me every twenty minutes earlier asking me if everything was in place. I really hope he goes through with his present for her, because I can tell they really love each other."

"Wait, what do you mean?" Rusty asked confused. "What's his present to her?"

"You really don't know?" Ashleigh asked. "I thought for sure you would. I don't want to spoil the surprise then; I'm sure you'll know soon. Love you, I'll see you later."

"Love you too," Rusty said and kissed her, still wondering what she was talking about. Ashleigh left, and then Rusty knew it was time to start the initiation ceremony. He walked out of his room and headed downstairs. "Okay guys, are all the pledges here?"

"Yep, we're all here and ready to be initiated," Pledge Larry spoke up.

"Well, then let's get started," Rusty said. "Brothers, blindfold them."

-GREEK-

"Is there any way we can not initiate my little sister?" Laura asked Rebecca just before ZBZ's initiation ceremony. On grounds of betrayal to another sister?"

"Well yeah, we don't have to initiate her," Rebecca said. "We don't have to initiate any of them, but if we didn't the house would be down a lot of sisters."

"You don't have to worry about not initiating me," Rachel said, entering the kitchen where Rebecca and Laura were. "Because it turns out I'm not coming back next year anyway."

"Where are you going?" Rebecca asked.

"I'm transferring," Rachel said. "Just got my letter of acceptance today. And my year of pledging wasn't for nothing, because my new school has a ZBZ chapter that I can transfer into."

"So where exactly are you going?" Laura asked. "Not that I actually care or anything."

"I think you should care," Rachel said. "Because I'm going to California, to a school that just happens to be in the same neighborhood that you and Dale will be in."

"What?" Laura asked, surprised and bothered. "You're following us?"

"Not exactly," Rachel said. "They just have a good program for my major."

"You haven't even declared a major," Laura said. "So I guess your whole being my friend this year was all an act, and now you're following us to California just to try to make our lives miserable, which by the way, ain't gonna work."

"No, it wasn't an act," Rachel said. "But you know what; it bothered me that you couldn't even tell me that you guys got married. I had to drag it out of my parents."

"Well the fact that you decided to tell everyone else out of spite just proves you can't be trusted," Laura said.

"That wasn't my intention, and I'll prove to you guys that I can change," Rachel said. "So I'll see ya in California."

"She's totally full of crap," Laura said to Rebecca after Rachel left. "I can't believe I wasted a year being her friend and big sister."

"Just think, she wouldn't have been a good sister anyway," Rebecca said. "Although I still don't understand why you and Dale didn't tell us before now."

"Just wanted to make sure things would work out I guess," Laura said. "And luckily they have."

"Are we almost ready to start initiation?" Kelsey asked as she and Heather entered the kitchen. "The pledges are getting ancy and so am I."

"You just want to know what your boyfriend has up his sleeve for your birthday," Rebecca said. "But yeah, get the pledges together and let's get started."

-GREEK-

"And may I present to you, brothers, our 2012 KT initiates!" Rusty announced as the KTs concluded their initiation ceremony. The brothers and pledges cheered as everyone began to make their way to the backyard to celebrate.

"We made it!" Pledge Curly shouted.

"I know; man I can't wait to torture the new pledges in the fall!" Pledge Barf said.

"Before we really start to party, I'd like to say something," Rusty said, and then took a deep breath. This was his end as a KT brother; soon he'd become an alum. And it wasn't going to be easy. "New initiates, I remember being in your exact same shoes three years ago. Let me ask you, did any of you think you were going to get dung out before initiation?" Nearly half of the new actives raised their hands.

"Well that means we did our jobs right," a brother spoke up.

"We did, and so did the brothers when I was a pledge," Rusty continued. "I didn't think I was going to make it. Luckily I did, but even after becoming an active, I never expected to become president someday. Sure I wanted it, but I thought it would never happen. Then, halfway through my junior year, Lasker had the old house torn down and Cappie planned to graduate, so somebody had to step up and be the next leader of the house. I knew I had to be the one to do it. Losing our house put us in a bad situation then, but in the end, we all worked together as a house, and the truth is we became stronger than we ever were before. The point of this is I have no idea what's going to happen with the house after I leave. All I can do is give the best advice possible. Keep working together as brothers, and never give up. I think what we really took away from the incident was that our house needed to work as hard as all the others to be a contributing part of the Greek system. Just keep that up and the house will only get stronger. I have a lot of faith."

"You're really trying to make at least one of us cry, aren't you Spitter?" Dump Truck spoke up jokingly.

"No, I really wasn't," Rusty laughed. "This is no time for crying; it's time for celebrating. But before we tap the kegs, there's one more thing. When Cappie graduated, I was finally able to make him feel comfortable with me leading the house. He's my big brother, and I wanted to step up for him so he and my big sister could start a new life together. Now, it's my turn to graduate, and I'm happy to say that someone seems to be stepping up to fill my shoes just as I did for Cappie. To cut to the chase so we can finally celebrate, I'd like to announce my little brother, my legacy, as the next KT president!" The KTs cheered as Spidey went to join Rusty on the back porch.

"But you know that it's not official yet," Rusty said after Spidey joined him.

"It's not?" Spidey asked.

"No, you have to try the chair and make sure it fits, remember?" Rusty said with a laugh. "Pledge, er, new active Barney, go get the chair." Barney ran into the house and came back carrying the president's chair.

"If you sit in it and it fits, you're KT president," Rusty said to Spidey. "Go on, try it out!" Spidey sat in the chair, and sure enough…

"It fits!" Spidey said happily. "Thanks so much Russ, I promise I won't let you down!"

"Don't just thank me; the house is behind you too," Rusty said. "Congratulations, you deserve it!" More cheers came from the crowd of KT brothers, many of them now more than eager to tap the kegs.

"Congratulations, son," Lasker said proudly, breaking through the crowd of KTs to join them on the porch.

"Dad, I thought you left yesterday," Spidey said surprised, but still glad to see him.

"I couldn't leave without being here for this," Lasker said. "My flight leaves in two hours though, but I figured you wouldn't want me hanging around here very long anyway." He laughed.

"Thanks for coming, dad," Spidey said. "It means a lot. I'll see you in New York in a few weeks."

"Get ready to have a blast," Lasker said, and then turned to the rest of the KTs. "Have a fun party, guys, and don't give my son too much trouble next year." With that, he turned and left the KT house.

"Now it's really time to tap the kegs," Anthony Hopkins spoke up, and within seconds the music was playing, the guys filled their cups with beer, and the party got started.

"So I take it things are back in good standing with your dad," Kelsey said, approaching Spidey as some of the guys were congratulating him. "I saw him on my way in."

"Hey birthday girl, what are you doing here?" Spidey asked, happy to see her. "I was going to surprise you at ZBZ."

"I couldn't miss this though," Kelsey said. "I got out of ZBZ's initiation as soon as I could. Congratulations, hun." She hugged him.

"Thanks, babe," Spidey said, smiling and hugging her back. "What do you say we get out of here after a while? I've got a surprise for you, and there's another surprise in store after all the initiation parties are over."

"You didn't have to go all out," Kelsey said. "This is your big night too. I'm perfectly fine staying here as long as you want."

"This is very important to me, but so are you," Spidey said. "We'll stay for a while, and then we'll leave."

-GREEK-

"Well that's it," Rebecca said, as she met Ashleigh as both of them were heading toward Dobler's. "Initiation is over, and I'm no longer ZBZ president."

"I don't know about you, but when the presidency was over for me, I kinda felt like a weight was lifted from my shoulders," Ashleigh said. "Don't get me wrong, I loved it, but at the end it was time to let go."

"You know what, it does feel like I'm free again in a way," Rebecca said.

"It should," Ashleigh said. "You really did put a lot of time and stress into the house these past few years, and now it's someone else's turn."

"Oh and guess what else happened tonight?" Rebecca asked. "I found out I won the ZBZ scholarship!"

"That's great!" Ashleigh said excitedly. "How'd you find out tonight?"

"Apparently the letter came in the mail earlier this week," Rebecca said. "But the girls were holding it to give me tonight. It's nice to be surprised, I must say." They both walked into Dobler's and saw Evan, Calvin, Heath, Dale, and Laura gathered at a table.

"Congrats on the scholarship, babe," Evan said to Rebecca, kissing her.

"Wait, how'd you know?" Rebecca asked confused.

"Heather told Heath who told Calvin who told me," Evan laughed. "And I'm guessing the transformation of power happened at ZBZ. How does it feel?"

"It actually feels okay," Rebecca said. "Like Ash just told me, it's like a weight of stress has been lifted. Now I can focus on having a great summer with you before starting grad school."

"I'm glad to hear that," Evan said, hugging her. Dobler's was already filled with a good amount of ZBZs and Omega Chis, and soon the majority of the KTs came in.

"Hey guys," Rusty said, approaching his friends.

"Hey, how was your initiation?"Calvin asked.

"I ended up giving practically an entire speech to the guys," Rusty said. "I think they thought I was trying to make them cry or something. But it's time; like Cappie said when he graduated; college may be over, but there's so much still left to learn, and new experiences to have."

"Here's to moving forward," Ashleigh said, and handed Rusty a drink.

"Cheers to that," Rebecca said, and everyone raised their glasses then took a drink. Rusty's phone rang just then.

"Hello," he answered.

"Hey there," Casey said from the other end. "Cappie's here too. We just wanted to call to see how tonight went."

"And I have to ask you, did Dale and Laura really get married when we were in Vegas?" Cappie asked.

"Yeah, his sister blew their cover this week," Rusty said. "How'd you find out?"

"Rebecca told me," Casey said. "But how did tonight go?"

"I'd say it went well," Rusty said, as he moved to a quieter corner of the bar and Ashleigh followed.

"Hey Case, Cap," Ashleigh greeted, and then Rusty put the phone on speaker so she could hear.

"Hey Ash," Casey said.

"Wait, where are you guys now?" Cappie spoke up. "Sounds like the party's still going on."

"We're at Dobler's," Rusty said. "Tonight wasn't easy, but like I said in my speech to the guys, I have faith that things are going to keep going as well as they have been."

"We're proud of you, Russ," Casey said. "And we can't wait to come up next week. Hope you guys don't mind picking us up at the bus station though."

"Of course we'll be there," Ashleigh said. "I can't believe next weekend's going to be our last weekend together until Christmas."

"Ah, I'm trying not to think about that now," Casey said with a laugh.

"Anyway, we should let you guys finish partying," Cappie said. "Give my congrats to KT's new president. I'm glad you were able to find your own legacy."

"Me too, it really does make leaving that much easier," Rusty said. They all said goodbye and hung up.

"Hey there," Spidey said, practically running over to Rusty and Ashleigh. "Kelsey's over at the bar buying her first drink, but I've got to tell you something."

"Did you lavaliere her?" Ashleigh asked.

"I did it, and she said yes!" Spidey said excitedly.

"Ahh that's so awesome!" Ashleigh smiled.

"Wait, how'd you know about this and I didn't?" Rusty asked Ashleigh.

"I wanted it to be a surprise to everyone," Spidey said. "But I really needed to know from a girl's point of view if she would say yes."

"I really am proud of you," Rusty said. "And I know the house will be in good hands next year."

"Yeah, congrats on the presidency," Ashleigh spoke up.

"Thanks, guys," Spidey said happily.

"First legal drink in a bar," Kelsey said, coming over to them. "Goodbye fake ID, I'm 21 now."

"Happy birthday, and congrats!" Ashleigh said. "I'm so happy for you guys!"

"So am I," Rusty agreed.

"We're really going to miss y'all next year," Kelsey said. "Promise us some Skype dates every now and then."

"Of course we will," Ashleigh said.

"You know, you really are like the big brother and big sister I never had growing up," Spidey said to Rusty and Ashleigh. "The way you guys have helped me out, well both of us actually, means a lot."

"Cappie did it for me, and then I did it for you," Rusty said. "I hope you'll find someone to do it for just the same."

"I never told you this but you do remind me a lot of my little brother," Ashleigh said. "Who just decided yesterday he's definitely coming to CRU in the fall. He's studying chemistry and biology."

"Really, is he rushing?" Spidey asked.

"I think so," Ashleigh said. "And I really don't see him being an Omega Chi. For some reason I think he might fit in with the KTs."

"Wow, I've never even met him and I think I want to rush him already," Spidey said.

"Come on," Rebecca said, approaching the four of them. "Some of the girls came up with a birthday drinking game for you. What's your 21st birthday if you actually remember it?"

"Believe me, I definitely want to remember most of it," Kelsey said. "But sure, let's have some fun." She and Spidey followed Rebecca, and Rusty and Ashleigh followed close behind.

"I'm glad I made the right decision," Rusty said to Ashleigh, taking her hand as they made their way toward their friends. "In that I didn't decide to stay here. I love you too much to let you go without me."

"I really was scared when I thought you wouldn't leave," Ashleigh said. "And I'm glad it's going to be you and me going off into the world together. Cappie and Casey finally made it work, and now it's our turn."

"I really can't wait to see what the future brings for us," Rusty said, smiling at her. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," Ashleigh smiled back at him. "And I always will."

A/N: Four months later, there you have it! Super sorry again for the wait, especially to those of you I told I'd have the chapter done months ago. I think I wrote more on this in the past week than I did in the last three months. And I believe this is my longest chapter to date, so if I'm giving an excuse for the long wait, I'll use that…haha. Hope you like it, and please let me know what you think. :-) Next chapter will be the finale! (tear) Anyone have any expectations, or what do you think might happen? I will have the final chapter up much sooner.

After my story ends, there will still be more! I'll give you guys more info on that in the last chapter.


	20. Forever Young

Episode #20, Season Finale: Forever Young

Setting: Graduation

Synopsis: It's graduation time for the CRU seniors, and Rusty and Ashleigh say goodbye to their friends as they start a new life together.

-GREEK-

"Man, we've got our caps and gowns," Calvin said to Rusty and Dale, as the seniors were on campus picking up their caps and gowns for graduation. "They can't stop us from graduating now."

"Two days and that's it," Dale said. "Then the big bad world awaits us."

"What are you guys doing the rest of the day?" Rusty asked. "I don't know about you but I don't really want to pack up my room. We should do something instead."

"I don't want to pack either," Calvin said. "You know the new swimming pool at the athletic center is open. We should go there."

"Yeah, let's go," Dale said. "I'll make my parents pack my stuff tomorrow. They owe me for telling my sister about me and Laura."

"Awesome, seniors' day out it is then," Rusty said happily.

"Seniors' day out?" they heard Rebecca ask from behind them. They turned to see her and Laura walking toward them carrying their own graduation regalia. "Where to?"

"We're heading down to the pool at the athletic center," Calvin said. "Wanna come along?"

"I thought it would be a guys' thing," Dale said. "I'm just kidding. Of course I want my girlfriend and girl, pause, friend to join us."

"Do you realize you keep calling her your girlfriend and not what she really is to you now?" Rebecca asked Dale as the five of them began to make their way out of the crowd of other seniors.

"I still call him my boyfriend," Laura said.

"Yeah, it's like we're married but we're not, if that makes any sense," Dale said.

"Maybe it doesn't seem like you are because you didn't have an actual wedding," Rusty said.

"Yeah, you know a wedding would make it seem more real," Calvin said.

"Maybe it would," Dale said. "But we don't really want, or need a wedding right now. Maybe someday, we could make it an anniversary thing. But for now, after everything happened so fast, we're good for now."

"Yep, we are," Laura said.

-GREEK-

"Whoa, did a bomb go off in here or what?" Kelsey asked Ashleigh, as she entered her apartment, seeing stuff all over the floor.

"I hate packing," Ashleigh said with a sigh. "I've got way more stuff than I can take with me, and Rusty and I have to fit everything of ours into his and his parents' cars, and then we can only take so much on an airplane."

"Yeah, with all of this here you could take up a whole airplane by yourself," Kelsey laughed. "When do you have to be moved out?"

"By the end of the day tomorrow," Ashleigh said, sitting down on the couch. "For now I'm just going to get everything over to the KT house and we'll both sort through our stuff there."

"How about I help you get it all over there later?" Kelsey asked. "Now we've got to go to Clarissa's end of the year picnic, remember?"

"Oh yeah you're right; I didn't realize it was that late," Ashleigh said, checking the time on her phone. "I can stand to get out of here for a while." Ashleigh abandoned her packing as the girls left her apartment.

"So you're not taking your car with you?" Kelsey asked.

"We really don't need two cars to drive up to Rusty's parents' place, and Rusty's is bigger," Ashleigh said. "I was going to ask you if you guys wanted to borrow it to use when I'm gone."

"Really?" Kelsey asked. "You'd just let us use it like that?"

"Yeah, my family doesn't need it," Ashleigh said. "And you've borrowed it before so I don't mind."

"That would be awesome; thanks so much," Kelsey smiled. "I can't believe the next time you come back I'll be halfway through my senior year."

"Yeah, I guess if things go well for you in California this summer," Ashleigh began. "You might find yourself back out there after graduation."

"I guess that could probably happen," Kelsey said. "As much as I'm looking forward to working there this summer, I'm not sure if I'd want to go back long-term right away after I graduate. I'll probably just apply to grad school here and stay another year."

"You've still got some time to think about it," Ashleigh said. "Just enjoy the next year and see where things take you. And I'll always be just a phone call away if you need any post-grad advice."

"Thanks, cause I'm sure I will," Kelsey said.

-GREEK-

"Hey Cap, what are you doing here?" Casey asked, surprised but happy to see Cappie show up in her office at lunchtime.

"I got off early today and thought we could go to lunch," Cappie said.

"Yeah of course, let's go," Casey said, grabbing her purse and following Cappie out of her office. "So you get out early even when you're taking the day off tomorrow? I have to stay late tonight just so I'm able to take tomorrow off. I'm still trying to catch up after being off for our wedding and the honeymoon."

"Don't push yourself too hard," Cappie said. "They love you here; they know you're doing your job."

"Yeah I know," Casey said. "And I'll be fine; I just need to finish up a few extra things tonight. Then I'll be able to enjoy the weekend with you, Rusty, Ash, and everyone."

"Yeah we better enjoy it because it'll be our last vacation for a while," Cappie said. "Probably until homecoming."

"And our last time seeing Rusty and Ash until Christmas," Casey said. "It's going to be so weird not being able to drive to Cyprus and see them."

"Yeah it will be," Cappie said. "But Christmas will be here before you know it, and you know we can plan something awesome for New Years' with everyone again this year."

"Yeah you're right," Casey said. "I'm just really going to miss them."

"You've got me as a consolation though," Cappie said with a laugh, putting an arm around Casey.

"And I've got to say you're a very good consolation," Casey smiled at him as they continued on their way to get lunch. "As long as I have you I'll be okay."

-GREEK-

"I really need your help with something," Rebecca said to Evan.

"What's that?" Evan asked.

"I need to make sure that my mom and dad don't see each other this weekend," Rebecca said. "I ended up inviting them both to graduation, but they only agreed to come if the other one wasn't coming."

"So you told your dad that your mom wasn't coming, and you told your mom that your dad wasn't coming," Evan said. "And they're both coming."

"Yeah," Rebecca said. "My dad got a hotel room and my mom's staying at ZBZ, so that's a start. But what would help is if you can keep one of them company at a time."

"I don't mind doing that," Evan said. "But what's going to happen at the family events the day before graduation? You obviously can't take both of them."

"I'll just go to a few with my mom and a few with my dad," Rebecca said. "I can come up with plenty of excuses."

"I just don't get why your parents can't put aside their differences just for one weekend for your graduation," Evan said.

"Because they can't stand each other," Rebecca said. "You've talked about all the faults your parents have. But at least they're still married and happy and can be in the same room together. Haven't you always been glad of that?"

"Yeah, I guess I have," Evan said. "I'm sorry it has to be this way with your parents. But I want you to enjoy your graduation, so I'll help you keep them under control."

-GREEK-

"I thought you said you hadn't started packing yet," Ashleigh said, as she and Rusty walked into the KT house and saw lots of random stuff in the living room.

"I think some of the new actives were moving their things over here before they went home for the summer," Rusty said.

"Yeah they are," Spidey said, approaching them. "But we've got a bit of a space issue, so I've got some construction guys coming later to turn some of the singles into doubles, triples, and quads."

"I guess space does become an issue when you've got thirty new guys moving in," Rusty said. "At least this house is bigger than the old one."

"Yeah I don't think anyone's going to have to live in the shed," Spidey laughed.

"Spitter, good luck, man," Larry said as he came downstairs with Curly and Moe. "We'll miss ya around here."

"Believe me, I'll miss this place and all you guys too," Rusty said. "Heading out?"

"Yeah, our epic adventure in Florida awaits," Curly said.

"Yep, it's time for some sun, fun, and of course picking up some girls along the way," Moe said.

"You'll have to let me know how that goes," Rusty laughed. "Have fun; I'll see you guys in December." They said goodbye and the Three Stooges left the KT house. "Now it's time to tackle my room."

"Yeah, hurry up and move out so I can move in there," Spidey said jokingly. "Even I've already got some of my stuff ready to move."

"Geez I think we might be getting thrown out of here," Ashleigh said with a laugh to Rusty, knowing Spidey was kidding.

"Yeah, we might have to get a hotel room for the weekend," Rusty joked.

"Of course I wouldn't throw you guys out," Spidey laughed. "Just like when Cappie and Casey come back, there's always a place here for you. Want some help packing?"

"That would be awesome," Rusty said. "My parents are getting here in a couple of hours and I've got nothing done. Since we've all been either at Dobler's or the pool the past few days."

-GREEK-

"Evan, hey," Calvin said as he saw Evan walk into the Omega Chi house. "What's up?"

"Just thought I'd drop by and hang a while before Rebecca's parents get in," Evan said. "She's meeting her mom at the airport and I'm supposed to meet her dad outside his hotel later."

"Are her parents really being that immature that they can't stand being around each other for their own daughter's graduation?" Calvin asked.

"Apparently so," Evan said. "Even after everything she's been through with her dad, she still wanted him at her graduation, meaning I'm the go-between to make sure him and her mom don't run into each other and start a fight."

"Since you're going to be on watch most of the weekend," Calvin began. "Want to grab lunch at Dobler's now?"

"Yeah," Evan said. "Cappie just texted me; he and Case are almost here; he said he'd come by for a drink in about an hour."

-GREEK-

"Case, Cap," Rusty greeted them as they climbed in the backseat of Rusty's car at the bus station. "I'm so glad you guys are here."

"We're glad to be here," Casey smiled. "You ready for this?"

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be to graduate," Rusty said.

"We're going to miss you guys like crazy though," Ashleigh said. "This feels totally different than when I left for New York. I thought it felt real then, that I was leaving, but this is even more real, like it's _really_ happening this time."

"Aw, you guys are going to have so much fun and you'll forget all about us little people," Cappie joked. "But really, have fun and enjoy yourselves, and I promise we'll all have a blast at Christmas and New Years'." They four of them chatted as Rusty drove back to KT, and they were all greeted by Rusty and Casey's parents as they walked in.

"Hey you two," Mrs. Cartwright greeted Casey and Cappie, hugging them both.

"Thanks for not calling us and telling us about the honeymoon by the way," Mr. Cartwright said with a laugh.

"Sorry, dad," Casey said. "It's been crazy this past week. With my car essentially dying, going back to work, and trying to get started on some post-wedding stuff. But I just told Rusty and Ash on the way here that the six of us are all going out to dinner tonight, Cappie's and my treat."

"Honey, you don't have to do that," Mrs. Cartwright said.

"We want to," Cappie spoke up. "You were all an awesome help with the wedding, and we couldn't be happier."

-GREEK-

"Well today's the day," Rusty said to himself as he woke up in his almost empty room on graduation morning. He turned to Ashleigh who was next to him. "You awake?"

"Yeah," Ashleigh said. "Ready for your big day?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Rusty smiled and got out of bed. "We better get downstairs; everyone should be coming over soon, if they're not already here."

"Morning, sleepyheads," Cappie greeted Rusty and Ashleigh as they came downstairs. "About time you showed up." Rusty and Ashleigh noticed that Rusty's parents, Cappie and Casey, Evan and Rebecca, Calvin and Heath, and Dale and Laura were already in the kitchen eating. It looked like Spidey and Kelsey were making food for everyone.

"It is about time you showed up," Kelsey said jokingly. "We got up and Rusty, your parents were already down here, then everyone else started coming over."

"Yeah, so we just whipped up some breakfast for everyone," Spidey said. "Come eat."

"Thanks guys," Rusty said, as he and Ashleigh sat down and began eating. Everyone began chatting amongst themselves as they ate.

"So you just missed mine and Laura's current dilemma," Dale said to Rusty.

"What's that?" Rusty asked.

"We had dinner with both of our parents last night, and they told us that they want us to have a wedding," Dale said. "An actual wedding with both of our families."

"I can see why they'd want you to have a wedding," Calvin said. "But they shouldn't try and make you do it."

"That's exactly what they're trying to do," Dale said. "They said they'd pay for everything; they just want to actually see us be married."

"Why are you so against having a wedding?" Rusty asked.

"We're not really against having a wedding," Dale said. "We just don't want one _right now_. Like I was saying to you guys the other day, we're fine where we are right now. We just need to get our parents to wait a few years, and then yeah, we might have a wedding."

"How's babysitting the parents going?" Cappie asked as he was talking with Evan.

"Hanging out with Rebecca's parents isn't bad," Evan said. "But I still wish they could stand being in the same place together for one day for her sake."

"You're right about that," Cappie said. "Even though April and Tobias aren't really together anymore, they can still stand each other enough to both be with me and Case, like at the wedding or on holidays."

"Doesn't it seem like it was just us getting ready to graduate?" Casey asked Ashleigh.

"I know, right," Ashleigh said. "Have two years really gone by already?"

"And even though I've been living in D.C. and you've been in Cyprus, I'm glad we've been just as close as we were in college."

"That's what I love about us," Ashleigh said. "We're still just as much a part of each other's lives now as we were in college. And that's not going to change one bit."

-GREEK-

"Guess we should head over soon," Casey said at the KT house as everyone was getting ready to go to graduation a little while later. She called to her parents who were still upstairs. "Mom, dad, you ready?"

"Coming!" Mr. Cartwright called, then he soon came downstairs followed by Mrs. Cartwright. "We were just having a few difficulties with the video camera, but I think it works now."

"Hold on a minute," Cappie spoke up. "I've gotta pee before we leave."

"I asked ten minutes ago if anyone needed to go," Casey said.

"Yeah, the ceremony starts in fifteen minutes," Ashleigh said.

"Beaver's saving us seats though, so we're fine," Cappie said. Just then, the front door opened and Beaver walked into the house followed by Katherine.

"Hey guys, let's get this show on the road," Beaver said.

"Beaver!" Casey shouted. "What are you doing here? Cappie said you were saving us seats. Now we'll probably be stuck in the back somewhere."

"Oh, I thought Heath was saving seats," Beaver said.

"Was I?" Heath asked confused, as he was among the group in the KT living room. "Cause I thought it was Wade."

"Nope, I'm here, it wasn't me," Wade spoke up.

"Whatever, it doesn't matter," Casey said, and turned to call back upstairs. "Cap, let's go!" Just then they heard a crash coming from upstairs. "What the heck is he doing?"

"That's probably not Cappie," Spidey said. "The construction workers are still working in some of the rooms."

"That explains why I woke up to the sound of a buzzsaw this morning," Kelsey said.

"Okay I'm here, let's go," Cappie said, coming back downstairs. "Evan just texted and said he's already there with Rebecca's mom. He found enough seats to save for us."

-GREEK-

"Rusty!" Calvin called as Rusty ran over to him and Dale dressed in graduation regalia just before the ceremony. "Where have you been? We're about to line up."

"I didn't mean to be late, but I had to take care of something first that took longer than expected," Rusty said. "Check this out." He pulled a small black box out of his pocket and showed Dale and Calvin what was in it.

"Oh my gosh!" Calvin exclaimed. "Is that…? Are you going to…?"

"Are you going to finish any of those sentences?" Dale asked Calvin, and then turned to Rusty. "You're proposing, aren't you?"

"I'm going to do it," Rusty said. "I'm going to propose to Ashleigh after graduation."

"That's awesome!" Calvin said. "There's no doubt she's going to say yes."

"You think so?" Rusty asked.

"Absolutely," Calvin said. "I think it's the perfect time to do it. And it'll sure be a surprise to everyone else. Assuming everyone else doesn't know?"

"No one else knows I'm going to do it today," Rusty said. "I didn't even know for sure that I was. I've been thinking about it for a while, but the decision to do it today was kind of split-second."

"That explains why you left after breakfast so quickly," Dale said. "Good for you though. So when's it going to be your turn, Calvin?"

"I think it's going to be a while for me and Heath," Calvin said. "For one, it's not like we can get married in many places. And two, we've still got a lot of traveling ahead of us."

"You guys are doing a good thing," Rusty said to Calvin. "And it's awesome that Ash and I get to come to India and visit you at Thanksgiving."

"Yeah, wish you could come too, Dale," Calvin said.

"Me too," Dale said. "You'll have to tell me all about it at Christmas."

"Here we go," Rusty said, as the line of graduates in front of them began filing into the quad for the ceremony.

"Well let's do this!" Calvin said, as he, Rusty, and Dale followed the line toward the quad.

-GREEK-

"Where's Rusty?" Casey asked Ashleigh as they were sitting in the crowd at graduation, trying to spot him among the graduates. "It's hard to tell them apart in those stupid hats."

"Oh there he is," Ashleigh finally spotted him. "Next to Calvin and Dale. And there's Rebecca and Laura in the next row up."

"Fellow graduates," Dean Bowman greeted, stepping up to the podium to start the ceremony. "Graduating from college is an accomplishment that you should savor. Don't lose the significance of this day as you get ready to move on to the next chapter of your lives. I hope you've learned a lot and accomplished a lot during your time at CRU, and just remember, there are no refunds." As usual, the crowd was rather unresponsive to Dean Bowman's joke and there was silence for a moment.

"Anyway," Dean Bowman continued. "Now it's time to take what you've learned here out into the real world and continue to make a difference just as you have here. Your education doesn't stop here, because while college may be over, there's still a lot to learn as you continue to live your lives. So go out there and make us proud!" The ceremony continued as the graduates were now getting called up to receive their diplomas one by one.

"Rusty says hi," Ashleigh said, as she checked her phone to find a text from him.

"What's he doing texting during the ceremony?" Mrs. Cartwright spoke up.

"Mom, even you've gotta admit it's not fun sitting and watching people you don't know getting called up," Casey said.

"Rebecca Logan," they heard Dean Bowman say.

"Finally it's getting to them," Kelsey spoke up. Casey, Ashleigh, Evan, and their whole group cheered for Rebecca as she walked across the stage to get her diploma. Laura was next up, and then came some more people that they didn't know.

"Rusty Cartwright," Dean Bowman finally said, and they all began cheering again; Ashleigh, Casey, and Rusty's parents cheering loudest of all.

"Go Spitter!" the KTs in their group shouted just as everyone became quiet again. Rusty smiled and looked back at his family and friends as he took his diploma from Dean Bowman.

"You know, after four years here we still don't understand the real reason you guys call him Spitter," Mr. Cartwright spoke up as Rusty walked off the stage and sat back down.

"I think it's best we don't know, honey," Mrs. Cartwright said, and the KTs laughed at that. Calvin and Dale were next to be called up, followed by another mass of random people, with some other KT, ZBZ, and Omega Chi graduates thrown in the mix. Finally, everyone had received their diplomas, all of the speeches were made, and it was time to conclude the ceremony.

"Family, friends, and community members, I'm proud to present to you the Cyprus Rhodes University Class of 2012," Dean Bowman said. The graduates and the crowd erupted into cheers as caps went flying and champagne bottles popped open.

-GREEK-

"We did it!" Rusty shouted happily to Calvin and Dale as the graduates were celebrating amongst themselves after the ceremony.

"Yep, we survived!" Dale said proudly. "Summa Cum Laude, Russ, good for us! Even though I still beat you."

"One one-hundredth of a point," Rusty pointed out with a chuckle, knowing Dale was joking.

"Still, I always knew I could surpass you academically," Dale joked.

"I always pictured this since we were freshmen," Calvin said. "Us being here at our graduation. Come here you guys." He hugged Rusty and Dale as Rebecca and Laura came over to join them. "Come on in, group hug." Dale pulled Laura in and Calvin pulled Rebecca in.

"Okay, too much love," Rebecca said with a laugh after a moment, and they all broke away.

"Five years in the making and I couldn't be more glad for today," Laura said. "I'm a ZBZ alum now and all those bitches on Pan-Hellenic can go to hell!" Rebecca, Dale, Rusty, and Calvin laughed.

"We should go and find everyone," Rusty said, as the crowd was beginning to disperse some more.

"Congratulations Russ!" Rusty heard Ashleigh a moment later, and then saw her running toward him. She threw her arms around him when she reached him, and Rusty hugged her back tightly.

"Thanks, Ash!" Rusty said, smiling brightly. "This really does feel amazing!"

"I'm glad, because it feels amazing to me too," Ashleigh smiled as they pulled back, and then Rusty kissed her.

"Okay, get a room people," they heard Cappie say with a laugh. They broke apart and saw Cappie, Casey, and the others making their way toward them. Ashleigh saw Rebecca and Calvin and went to congratulate them. Before Casey, Cappie, or anyone else could congratulate Rusty, his mother attacked him first.

"My baby!" Mrs. Cartwright exclaimed, hugging him. "You did it! It seems like just yesterday I was telling you to stay out of your sister's dolls, and now you've graduated from college. My babies are all grown up."

"Mom," Rusty said shyly, as all his friends were seeing his mom babying him. But he just smiled and hugged his mom back.

"We're proud of you, son," Mr. Cartwright approached a moment later, and hugged Rusty.

"No more Cartwrights on campus, how will this place survive," Cappie joked, his arm around Casey as they approached Rusty after his parents stepped away.

"At least not for another twenty years or so," Rusty laughed.

"Yeah, someday it might be all of our kids ruling this place," Cappie chuckled. "Congrats little bro."

"Thanks Cap," Rusty smiled, hugging him, and then he turned to Casey. "Well Case, Cap's right. No more Cartwrights on campus, what is there to do?"

"Hopefully CRU will survive without them for another twenty years," Casey laughed. "I won't go all Mom on you, but I'm proud of you and I love you. Congratulations."

"Thanks, Case, love you too," Rusty smiled and hugged his sister.

"Spitter!" Beaver shouted. "I can't believe you're checking out of this place already. Geez, when did I get so old?" Rusty laughed as Beaver and some of the other KTs greeted him.

"Congrats big brother!" Spidey said happily, hugging Rusty. "Is this you passing the proverbial torch?"

"Yep it is," Rusty smiled. "Don't drop it."

"I promise I won't," Spidey smiled. "I'll make you and Cappie proud!"

"Just enjoy every minute of the next two years," Rusty said. "Because sooner than you think, it's going to be you in a cap and gown."

"Well, what do you say we all head over to Gentleman's Choice and party," Heath spoke up.

"Yep, second year in a row my establishment is hosting the graduation party," Wade said.

"Yeah, let's go," Calvin said.

"I'll meet you all there in a little bit," Rusty said. "I want to run back to the house and change. Ash, come with me would you?"

"Yeah of course," Ashleigh said.

"Okay, we'll see you guys over there soon," Casey said. Rusty and Ashleigh walked away from the group and started back toward the KT house.

-GREEK-

"I really don't need to change," Rusty said to Ashleigh when they were away from everyone else. "I just wanted a bit of alone time with you before we spend the rest of the day and night with our friends. Thought we could take a walk around campus one last time."

"I'd love that," Ashleigh smiled, taking his hand. "I got you something as a happy graduation gift and just because I love you. Here." She took something out of her purse and handed it to him. It was a plaque that had the KT logo on it, and his name and the years he was an active member was engraved onto it.

"Ash, thanks I love it," Rusty smiled and kissed her. "I want to hang it up in our apartment."

"I want you to," Ashleigh said. "That way every day you'll be reminded of the great times you've had at KT and how many people will be waiting for you to come back in December."

"You want to know something?" Rusty asked as he stopped walking, causing Ashleigh to stop too.

"What is it?" Ashleigh asked, turning to face him.

"I knew there was something special about you right from the start," Rusty began, taking her hands. "When we went to the ZBZ formal together my freshman year, I had such a great time with you, but I thought things could never work between us because you were Casey's best friend. But then things changed, and we got closer as friends my sophomore year, and let me tell you I was ecstatic when I found out you came back to Cyprus from New York after you graduated."

"Really?" Ashleigh asked.

"Yeah," Rusty smiled. "I missed you a lot when you were gone, even considering I was still with Dana at the time. But looking back now, what I had with Dana or any of my other girlfriends didn't even come close to what I feel with you now. You are so amazing and being the one who's about to start a life with you now is the best feeling in the world to me."

"Rusty…" Ashleigh started to speak, but instead just smiled at him and let him continue.

"I love you so much and I couldn't imagine my life without you in it," Rusty said, and then got down on one knee and took the small box out of his pocket. "I can't be any more sure than I am right now that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"

"Oh my gosh yes!" Ashleigh said excitedly, smiling brightly at him. "Yes, yes, yes!" Rusty stood up, grinning from ear to ear as he slid the ring on her finger, and then she threw herself in his arms.

"I love you so much," she whispered in his ear. "This is perfect. Now we're starting our life together for real."

"I couldn't be happier," Rusty said, still smiling brightly. "I've got to be the luckiest guy in the world because I get to be with you forever." She just smiled and kissed him.

"Tonight's sure going to be an amazing last night in the KT house, isn't it?" Ashleigh said as they broke apart.

"It sure is," Rusty said, giving her one more peck on the lips, and then they continued walking.

-GREEK-

"Has anyone seen Rusty and Ash?" Casey asked as everyone was now hanging out at Gentleman's Choice. "They've been gone for over an hour."

"Yeah, he said he was just going to change," Cappie said.

"I know where they are," Calvin said. "Well I don't know exactly where they are but I know what's up. But I can't tell you; it's a surprise."

"Yeah, they'll be here soon," Dale said.

"What kind of surprise?" Casey asked, very curious now.

"You'll see," Calvin said.

"So Case, I hope you're ready to see a lot more of me again," Rebecca said, walking over to Casey. "I'm moving back out to D.C. next weekend."

"It's going to be great having you there," Casey said. "Honestly. And Evan will be out with you for the summer. The four of us will have a blast."

"You better believe it," Rebecca said, and then looked over at the entrance to see a familiar face enter. "Crap, what is my dad doing here?! He said he was going back to his hotel after the ceremony. Evan and my mom are right over there."

"And I think your dad just saw them," Casey said, seeing Rebecca's dad had found her mom and Evan.

"And I can see an argument already starting," Rebecca said, and then proceeded to walk rather angrily over to where her parents were already raising their voices at each other. "All right!" she shouted, causing her parents to stop fighting and turn to her. "This is my graduation day. I wanted you both to be here, so yes I had Evan helping me try to keep you two apart. But honestly, he shouldn't have had to do that. Because your issues are not my fault. If you can't put your issues aside and be here with me, then fine, because I know I have friends in this room who actually support me. Now, you can either both stay here and celebrate with me, or you can both just leave right now." With that, Rebecca walked away from her parents, dragging Casey with her.

"Wow, you really stood up to them," Casey said. "That was great."

"I probably just pissed both of them off," Rebecca said. "But I couldn't help of it. I'm sick of being caught in the middle of their problems."

"And you shouldn't be," Casey said. "Obviously their divorce was rather messy, but if they're that mature, they should both be there for you during important times of your life, like today." Casey turned around to see both of Rebecca's parents making their way over to them. "And it looks like you might have gotten through to them." Casey left Rebecca to talk to her parents, and a moment later, she saw Rusty and Ashleigh finally walk in.

"Where in the world have you been?" Casey asked when she reached them.

"Something's up, I can tell," Cappie said as he joined them. "You didn't just go back to the KT house."

"Not exactly," Rusty said. "We do have something important to say."

"Get everyone's attention," Ashleigh said. "Let's just tell them all at once." Rusty proceeded to give a loud whistle, causing the room to become quiet.

"Hey guys," Rusty said, as everyone was looking at him now.

"Spitter, there you are," Beaver spoke up before Rusty could continue. "What took you so long?"

"We've got an important announcement," Rusty said, putting an arm around Ashleigh.

"We're engaged!" Ashleigh said excitedly. Casey, who was standing nearby with Cappie, had just taken a sip of her lemon drop, and as soon as the words left Ashleigh's mouth, she sputtered and slightly choked on the drink.

"You okay, Case?" Rusty asked her, seeing her coughing and Cappie patting her back.

"I'm good," Casey said.

"Mazel tov!" Cappie shouted once Casey stopped coughing, and then all of Rusty and Ashleigh's friends began cheering and surrounding them.

"Wow," was all Casey could say when she and Cappie reached Rusty and Ashleigh.

"I hope that's a good wow," Rusty said with a chuckle.

"Of course it's a good wow," Casey said. "You just took me by complete surprise; hence why I choked on my drink. But gosh, I really am so happy for you two, honestly. It's just a lot to take in, but you deserve each other and I can tell how happy you both are. And I am going to miss you so much when you're gone."

"Aw, Case!" Ashleigh gave her a big hug, seeing she was really tearing up now.

"Spitter, I'm proud of you," Cappie said, giving Rusty a pat on the back. "Unlike my wife who's in complete shock, I totally saw this coming. Congrats, and when's the wedding?"

"We've only been engaged for an hour, Cap," Rusty laughed. "But we'll figure it out."

"Congrats you guys!" Calvin said, grabbing Rusty and Ashleigh in a hug once Cappie and Casey stepped away. "You know you guys were my first two friends at CRU, and looking back I never would have guessed you would date each other, much less end up getting married. But sometimes great things happen that we don't expect."

"True that," Ashleigh said with a smile. Rusty and Ashleigh's friends continued giving them congratulations, and once the excitement died down a little, Casey pulled Rusty aside.

"You're not going to cry, are you?" Rusty asked jokingly.

"I'm going to try not to," Casey laughed. "Just when I thought I couldn't be more proud, you proved me wrong. Russ, we've come such a long way in the past four years. If someone would've told me back then that my best friend and little brother would end up married, I would have definitely thought that person had way too much to drink. But I've seen how you've grown up since you've been at CRU, and I grew up too, meaning I can give you both my blessing now. Not that you really need it, but…"

"Of course we want your blessing, Case," Rusty interrupted. "And we're glad we've got it. We weren't sure there for a minute when we thought you'd have to have CPR though." They both laughed.

"Like I said, I was surprised," Casey said. "I think the timing was right, though; you're both starting a new life, and well you've got a wedding to plan now. I've never been more proud of either of you than I am right now."

-GREEK-

"Well that's the last of it," Rusty said, as he stuck his last bag into the already full trunk of his car and then closed it. It was the morning after graduation, Rusty and Ashleigh were getting ready to leave, and everyone was gathered to say goodbye to them where Rusty's car was parked on the street outside of the KT house.

"Can I just say that you look exhausted," Rebecca said to Rusty and Ashleigh.

"So do you, Bex," Ashleigh said. "I think most of us are, since we've all been up super late almost every night this week hanging out."

"I know I could use some sleep," Evan said, and then turned to Rusty and Ashleigh. "Good luck you guys, and don't be strangers. Keep in touch, and Rusty, let me know how working for my parents goes."

"Will do," Rusty said. "Good luck in the last semester of law school."

"Yeah, keep in touch and all that jazz," Rebecca said. "Or else I'll personally hunt you down."

"I don't think you'll have to do that," Ashleigh chuckled, and gave Rebecca a hug. "Bye Bex, I'll miss you."

"Well guys, I guess this CRU wedding train will still keep going after us," Beaver said. "Spitter, you came to Kappa Tau as a freshman completely hopeless when it came to women. And now you're graduated and engaged. I guess all children really do grow up."

"That's right, Beav," Rusty chuckled at Beaver's attempt at sentimentality. "I can't wait for your wedding though."

"I'll definitely be e-mailing you pictures of the dresses when they're picked out," Katherine said to Ashleigh.

"I'm excited too," Ashleigh said. "Keep us updated on the planning."

"You know I will," Katherine said. "And keep us updated on your lives."

"Don't be surprised if you get a wedding invite in the mail from us I guess," Dale said. "I don't think our parents are going to rest about it anytime soon."

"Don't sweat it," Rusty said. "I don't think they could make you have a wedding when you're right in the middle of grad school."

"Yeah, hopefully they'll get that," Dale said. "Call me when you get moved in, okay."

"Yep I will," Rusty said, hugging Dale.

"We can't wait for you guys to come at Thanksgiving," Calvin said, approaching them with Heath. "Try not to miss us much until then okay."

"We'll try not to," Ashleigh laughed, hugging Calvin and Heath.

"We definitely can't wait to visit," Rusty said, hugging them.

"Here's some Cheesaritos for the road," Spidey said, handing Rusty a bag of Cheesaritos.

"And some coffee, cause you look like you need it," Kelsey said, handing Rusty and Ashleigh each a cup of coffee.

"Thanks, guys," Ashleigh said, as she and Rusty sat their coffees and Cheesaritos on his car roof.

"Thanks for letting us use your car," Spidey said to Ashleigh. "That's so awesome of you."

"No problem; I figured somebody ought to use it," Ashleigh said.

"You two are our eyes and ears at this place now," Rusty said. "Keep us updated."

"We will," Spidey said. "And as for KT, I've got it. Although don't be surprised if I call you for advice a few times at first."

"I know you can do it on your own," Rusty said. "But yeah, I'm always just a phone call away whenever you want to talk."

"Thanks," Spidey said. "See ya Russ." He hugged Rusty and then turned to Ashleigh. "See ya future big sis in-law."

"See ya future little brother in-law," Ashleigh laughed and hugged him.

"It won't be the same here without you," Kelsey said, hugging Ashleigh and Rusty. "You've helped us both a lot and we won't forget that. We'll be in touch."

"Yeah, you'll have to tell us how it goes in California," Ashleigh said.

"This is it I guess," Casey said, walking up to Rusty and Ashleigh with Cappie following. "I'm sensing a bit of déjà vu here, remembering when it was you saying goodbye to Cappie and me."

"What day do you actually leave for Europe?" Cappie asked.

"Not til this coming Saturday," Rusty said. "After we go to Mom and Dad's for a few days, we've got to go see Ash's family, and then we'll be leaving."

"Well, work hard but not too hard," Cappie said. "Have tons of fun and make us all jealous. We'll be Facebook stalking you."

"We'll be Facebook stalking you too," Rusty laughed.

"We'll talk to you guys before we head out," Ashleigh said.

"Yeah, call us this week," Casey said. "Gosh, I'm going to miss you both." She threw her arms around her best friend and little brother. "Now go, before I start crying," she said with a small laugh.

"In just over six months, we'll all be welcoming you back," Cappie said. "Until then, bon voyage!" Cappie gave Rusty and Ashleigh a hug.

"We'll see you all at Christmas!" Ashleigh said to everyone.

"Bye guys," Rusty said. They waved one last goodbye as they grabbed their coffees and Cheesaritos and got into Rusty's car. Rusty started the engine and then turned to Ashleigh. "You ready?"

"I'm with you; of course I'm ready," Ashleigh smiled, reaching her hand out and placing it on his. "Onward we go." Rusty put the car in gear and then they headed off down Greek Row, with all of their friends waving to them from the distance.

_Forever young, I want to be forever young  
>Do you really want to live forever, forever forever<br>Forever young, I want to be forever young  
>Do you really want to live forever<br>Forever young_

A/N: OMG I'm finished! Wow, so bittersweet! This has been a work in process for the past year and a half of my life and now it's done. I really wanted to get the last chapter posted ASAP, one so it's no longer a distraction from studying for the exam I have to take, and two because I've made y'all wait far too long on some of the other chapters. I wish I could have spent more time preparing this chapter, but I hope it's still a good conclusion and send-off. :-)

So, what's next you ask? I've mentioned this in my past few chapters, but just to reiterate, one of my readers will be starting a Greek story that skips ahead some years, focusing on a whole new generation of Greek. I'm really excited about seeing that, and I'll let you all know when that's posted, so make sure you're following either my Twitter or Facebook pages, or both (links are in my profile). Hopefully it'll be up within the next month or less.

I might not be completely done writing yet, either. I'm currently studying for an important exam as I mentioned, but I've got to give myself free time every once in a while, right. xD So I might start a story that focuses on important events that happen after Rusty and Ashleigh leave. (such as Beaver/Katherine's wedding, Rusty/Ashleigh's wedding, maybe some babies being born, etc..) I'll probably wait a while before I do that, but again I'll keep y'all in the loop. I'm probably going to miss writing Greek fanfiction and I'm going to want to start again, haha.

Lastly, thanks to everyone who's been reading my stories. Between 'Greek: Senior Year' and 'Greek: The Following Semester', I've written 30 chapters and over 200,000 words. Basically, I've put a lot of time into this over the past year and a half, and I appreciate everyone who's read and given me feedback. :-) So please let me know what you think of the ending, and what you might like to see captured in a future story.


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